How far would you go to become the idealized version of yourself? The iconic, innovative comic book series, The Beauty returns to print!
Discover the groundbreaking sci-fi horror story just in time for the TV adaptation from Ryan Murphy, coming late January 2026 on FX!
In a culture increasingly obsessed with physical beauty, what if you could be guaranteed a shortcut to becoming beautiful? A sexually transmitted disease has started transforming people who catch it, changing their facial features and body types to something more in line with society’s perceived ideal. The only catch? You will have a slight, persistent fever. But who cares how you feel when you look so good?
Those who pursued this alleged perfection are in for a rude awakening. After an indeterminate amount of time with the disease, it has deadly consequences as that fever finally burns you from the inside out. For Detectives Vaughn and Foster, investigating the first mysterious deaths of Beauty victims leads them into a dark world they never expected, full of corrupt politicians, murderous federal agents, and a secret society of crooks and killers.
Relive the first spellbinding story arc of The Beauty, as well as a selection of stories that expand the world. The first of three all-new editions collecting the entire original series, this volume includes the first eleven issues, co-written by series creators Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, with art by Haun, Mike Huddleston, Brett Weldele, and Stephen Green.
This volume collects issues 1-11 of the original series.
Jeremy Haun is a freelance comic book artist. Beginning in 2002, Haun worked for Image Comics, IDW Publishing, Oni Press, Devil's Due Publishing, Top Cow, and Marvel Comics. Since 2008, he has worked for DC Comics. He is best known for his work on Berserker and Battle Hymn. External links
They have changed so much of this for the show. I knew I should have read the book first, but I couldn’t help myself. Hot half naked men always win out… I have a teenager’s mind sometimes. 😭
I’ve been meaning to read this forever. While I really am enjoying both the graphic novel series and the show, they feel completely different. Which isn’t always a bad thing. But for some things, I actually enjoy the show’s interpretation more. 😬 I know, sacrilege!!!!
I will be continuing, but I need to know how it all continues/ends.
The concept is there's an STI that makes you beautiful for a few years but then kills you - that's fine, not the deepest story, but fine. But writer Jeremy Haun is only starting there, instead focusing on really interesting crime stories with scary villains, all in the world of this virus but not really about the virus, and that's a MUCH better book.
Yeah, yeah, jumping on the bandwagon, I know - but Ryan Murphy puts out a TV show, and I have to at least take a look at it, and therefore the source material.
The first arc of the Beauty sets up an interesting premise, and then manages to resolve it all in six issues, which makes me wonder if the book was intended to be an ongoing series at the beginning or not. The premise of an STD that makes you beautiful, only to kill you after an indeterminate amount of time, is compelling, and the conspiracy of it all plays out quite nicely over these first six issues.
The second arc necessarily pivots to different characters, though I'm also curious to see if we'll pivot back to the originals later on. These five issues at first seem unconnected, but the stories dovetail at the end of the arc to become something more threaded together, featuring two assassins for the mob who both have The Beauty for a different reason. The story here's pretty good, if a bit more focused than the first arc, but the art certainly takes a dive, with three artists across five issues, none of whom make a mark on the book as much as Jeremy Haun does in the first six.
An interesting start, but I have my worries that things are going to be treading water. Anthology series work fine, but I'm not sure if the premise will hold up for another 20 issues without something stronger to keep it afloat.
Collections like this sort of annoy me. When a writer or publisher does an arc with one set of characters, then does several issues of side stories or introducing new characters before coming back to the main story line. In this case, with new artists. It's just disjointed and distracting. I would have preferred 12 uninterrupted issues following our main protagonists established in the first 6 issues. It's lame that I now feel indifferent to staying on for volume two, collecting vol 3 and 4, ("Book 2" coming in a few more months, June 2026). Just not what I expected, so I'm annoyed. This approach seldom pulls off what "Fables" or Garth Ennis achieve narratively. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.
The Beauty is really a pandemic story, I finally realized it after reading the first few pages. I started reading one of the volumes years back before it became a series on Hulu. I knew I recognized the concept and I was correct.
I will say this though, the Hulu series has a better storyline. Now, most of the time the book is way better but not this time. The book has The Beauty as a worldwide endemic. Millions of people are infected with it. The book’s storyline was kind of flat. The characters were just kinda meh. The action was okay but predictable. I was pretty excited about the second volume but I doubt I’ll be pre-ordering it.
This wasn't quite what I expected but I did really enjoy it. It was a bit more gang/political rather than the STI and dystopia taking over the world which is what I hoped for.
That being said, the art is INCREDIBLE and it had some interesting and well done violence and deaths.
I'm excited to read the next one and see the FX show!
Stumbled into this version from Ingnition Press while on the hunt for book 2 from Image comics.
The shift in art, tone, and plot between issues 1-6 and 7-11 are drastic. The contrast does a service to the world building around the premise of the Beauty. Characters are colorful, layered, and exciting to follow.
I liked this quite a bit and would like to see more. The concept and plot raise questions about consent, mortality, the healthcare system, and more. How can this disease change and end lives? Why is there such secrecy around the cure? What's going to happen to our valiant detectives next?
3.5 rounded up because the art is detailed and realistic (if violent) and moves the story along. The plot is shallow, though, and characters died just as I began to care about them.