- Germination
Dark New Comic Book Explores a World Without Antibiotics
In Surgeon X, a vigilante doctor tries to save lives in a near-future dystopia where millions are dying of simple infections.
Out on the streets, everyone is wearing a surgical mask. Inside, building walls are papered with political posters: “9 Million Dead a Year. Rationing Is Rational.”
In a hospital, a female surgeon snarls at a male supervisor. “I’m sick of being told how I should treat my patients. First we’re told to cut antibiotic prescriptions by 50 percent. And next the government locks up the antibiotics and controls their use?”
The place is London. The year is 2036. And the story of Surgeon X—a monthly graphic novel written by British filmmaker Sara Kenney and published by U.S.-based Image Comics—is off to a gritty, gory, swear-y start.
At the center of the story is Rosa Scott: young, talented, sick of bureaucrats, and sick
