HEAT SEEKER: EXPOSED #1, by Titan Comics on 6/4/25, finds Dahlia on the run when an ambitious online reporter learns her identity and wants to expose it to the world.
Credits:
- Writer: Charles Ardai
- Artist: Ace Continuado, Juan Castro
- Colorist: Asifur Rahman
- Letterer: David Leach
- Cover Artist: Stanley “Artgerm” Lau (cover A)
- Publisher: Titan Comics
- Release Date: June 4, 2025
- Comic Rating: Mature (nudity, language)
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 35
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of HEAT SEEKER: EXPOSED #1:
Recap:
Heat Seeker: Exposed #1 borrows elements of the previous Heat Seeker arcs. In short, Dahlia Racers helps people disappear for a hefty fee. Her clients range from organized crime bosses to deposed politicians and everyone in between. Therefore, exposure is very bad for business.
Plot Analysis:
Heat Seeker: Exposed #1 begins with Dahlia Racers settling into domestic life with her girlfriend with bio-engineered enhancements and her daughter, who is really the daughter of a mad scientist who holds the key to a deadly plague. One day, Dahlia receives a call from the weapons trafficker Janna Tan, aka Gun Honey, telling her not to go back to her NYC apartment. Joanna learned that an online “journalist,” Jacqueline McGee, received a copy of Dahlia’s client list from a previous mission, and Dahlia is the next reporting target.
Dahlia makes a series of coded phone calls to get her “daughter” to safety. But the lead time runs out when McGee calls out Dahlia from the city street below her apartment with a megaphone. What follows is a frantic chase involving disguises, secret tracking devices, and subway train surfing (and hopping). Dahlia knows McGee won’t give up, so she places a call to meet on a public beach.
During the meet, Dahlia insists McGee gets naked to prove she isn’t wearing any recording devices. McGee agrees. During the talk, McGee tells Dahlia that the stories are coming, so she had better cooperate. Unfortunately, McGee made the mistake of contacting some of Dahlia’s clients, resulting in a remote, armed drone showing up at the beach to eliminate McGee and Dahlia.
Dahlia takes out the drone, but McGee believes it was a setup. The issue ends with Dahlia on the run after McGee plasters her face all over the Internet.
First Impressions:
Clean, clear, and instantly relatable. Charles Ardai’s latest tale about the world’s greatest illusionist grabs you with all the intensity you’d expect from a Gun Honey spinoff, coupled with a darn fine plot to instantly grab you.
Artwork and Presentation:
Ace Continuado and Juan Castro compose a thrill ride of fast-paced action, intense standoff scenes, and plenty of nudity (of course). Prudish readers may want to cover their eyes during the beach scene, but at least the nudity makes sense for the urgent nature of the situation.
Art Samples:
Story Positives & Negatives:
The Positives:
It’s the plot that makes Heat Seeker: Exposed #1 a winner (as long as you have foreknowledge of the character). What’s the worst thing that could happen to an illusionist who specializes in helping people disappear? Exposure for her and her clients. In one fell swoop, you get everything you need to raise the energy and anticipation, wrapped in great art and with a strong cliffhanger.
The Negatives:
As a minor nitpick, Dahlia Racers had to know a giant list of names that included her clients would come back to invite her eventually. Except for the coded phone call meant to get her daughter to safety, there’s little in this issue that suggests Dahlia was actively taking steps to protect herself from the fallout of the list, which is off-brand for a character whose specialty is deceptive planning, secrecy, and disappearing.
Big Picture:
Series Continuity:
Do you need to have read the previous Heat Seeker arcs to understand what’s happening in this issue? No, but it would help, so go get ’em.
Final Thoughts:
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HEAT SEEKER: EXPOSED #1 is a tight, focused, thrilling start to a new adventure for Dahlia Racers. Charles Ardai’s script kicks off an adventure that establishes all the stakes and urgency almost immediately to let the action tell the story, and the art team’s action chases are top-notch.
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