In this review of Land of Never #1, disgraced forensic pathologist Jim Hoke searches for his missing daughter Wendy, only to find she may have been taken by a cryptid known as The Floating Man.
Land of Never #1
Writer: Steve Orlando
Art: Miguel Mora
Cover: Miguel Mora
Variant Cover: Sebastian Piriz
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: June 17, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Land of Never #1 opens with a teenage girl in a suburban bedroom, alone in the house and sneaking a beer. This is Wendy Hoke, who lives with her recently divorced dad, Jim Hoke. Apart from the divorce, Jim has also recently been let go from his position as a forensic investigator for falsifying evidence.
Stumbling home from another date gone bad, a tipsy Jim walks through the front door and quickly sobers up as he hears Wendy screaming upstairs. He barely reaches her doorway in time to see a huge, hulking man in a creepy rubber baby doll mask holding Wendy’s unconscious body. Before Jim can react, the intruder crashes out the window, somehow unscathed, and disappears into the night, Wendy still in his arms.
The rest of Land of Never #1 follows Jim, six months later, as police mark Wendy as a cold case and Jim struggles to find any leads on his own, finally reaching out to a strange support group, all claiming to have children abducted by “The Floating Man”.
Writer Steve Orlando has some interesting ideas with this story, which if not a re-imagining of Peter Pan, obviously takes inspiration from the classic tale, all the way up to a dream sequence where the Floating Man cuts off Jim’s hand.
On stage and in many film adaptations of Peter Pan, the role of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook are usually played by the same actor. It’s interesting to see that connection utilized here not only to set Jim and the Floating Man against each other in a more realistic modern setting, but to build a history for Jim Hoke as an outsider. He may not be a pirate captain, but due to his willingness to act outside of ethical standards and his coarse manner, he doesn’t work well with others and is often outright rejected when he reaches out.
Yet, the reasoning behind the majority of his actions are to protect Wendy. He is a very empathetic character, regardless of his likeability. Essentially, a perfect antihero.
We know very little about Wendy or The Floating Man as of yet, having only seen them in the opening, in a dream sequence, and in a brief moment toward the end of the issue, potentially just to confirm that Wendy is still alive.
Artist Miguel Mora creates dramatic sequences packed with movement and emotion in Land of Never #1. The detail he puts into his panels is impressive. In action packed scenes, he focuses on the character, their body language and expression, but in quieter moments, you notice that everything in Wendy’s room is unchanged six months later, down to a dresser drawer that was slightly ajar and the stain on the sheets and carpet from her spilled beer.
Despite Mora’s excellent artwork and Orlando’s intriguing plot, Land of Never #1 suffers a bit from pacing and transition issues. The passage of time is sometimes down to those small details, like the accumulation of beer cans and debris during an extended period of research, and at other times it needs to be picked up through the context of, perhaps, how long would it take to send one-hundred and eighty-seven emails. The team should not have to hand-hold their readers necessarily, but the difference between a big, bold “SIX MONTHS LATER” and “DOWNTOWN” and the subtleties of the latter half of the issue are noticeable, to say the least.
Speaking of which, the extended conversation and subsequent confrontation between Jim and Detective Berry seems drawn out compared to his discovery and search for more information on The Floating Man. I would predict that his independent investigation will take priority in future issues, but for me personally, there was a little too much angry, disgraced Jim and not enough time spent laying the foundation for what will come next.
Final Thoughts
Land of Never #1 is an intriguing take on a classic tale, almost establishing itself as a modern noir, with its version of Captain Hook, Jim Hoke, as our protagonist. And speaking of hooks, the plot has some good ones. It’ll be interesting to see what the next issue has in store.
