Back again for another good comics week! This week was a little smaller, but that means the ones I picked out had to be all-the-better. My four picks from this week's pull list are two Future State titles, where one was a surprise! The other two are indie titles, one final issue and one second issue!
Hit any of the links below to jump to a specific review: Future State: Kara Zor-El Superwoman #1 Future State: Justice League #1 Home Sick Pilots #2 Lonely Receiver #5 Or Continue Reading for all four!
Future State: Kara Zor-El Superwoman #1
what makes Sauvage's art so spectacular, in part is the highlights--the negative space. In her coloring, Sauvage leaves white space amid her colors to act as highlights, as oppposed to a lot of shading. Additionally, she makes great use of "color holds," where a figure or form is outlines in a primary filler color, as opposed to a black line. It makes her art bright, airy, and highly recognizable. And in terms of subject matter like Kara, a moon colony, and beings from all corners of the universe, Sauvage's style of linework and coloring couldn't be more fitting. Sauvage was also in charge of designing Kara's Superwoman dress, which, again, couldn't be mire fitting. Gone is the giant S emblem on a red and blue painted chest, gone is the argument of if she belongs in a skirt or pants. This grown Kara shows her maturity through her sense of style, in a gown with a paler shade of blue on her wide-shouldered top, a delicate gold waist-band with a smaller family emblem, down into an open-front, red skirt, hanging loose and calf-length over dark leggings, finished with petite heels. The looks is one part "roaring twenties," one part traditional super-suit, and completely gorgeous. The story is narrated by Kara, in a heartfelt letter to Krypto, the super-dog. In a world of Supermen and their legacies, it's incredible touching that Kara winds up choosing Krypto as the rock to ground her, the spirit to hold her down. But Bennett goes on to explain that this isn't just a joyful memory Kara holds dear, but the final reminder of the one "super" who she felt she could always level with. In this sense, Bennett's story is remarkably similar to another project inked by Sauvage, a story in Batgril #50 by Cecil Castellucci, and, interestingly, it's a story in which Kara makes an appearance, too. The story talks about Barbara's Batgirl, of course, and all the ways she is constantly taken advantage of. She has her own life and trouble, but is ever-called upon for the aid of others in their crisis', marking her as a replaceable side-kick type. That story ends with Batgirl putting her foot down, refusing to be split into a million pieces for the aid of other heroes, and hold her ground as her own person. Now, Bennett's Kara story does the same thing for the former Supergirl. As she handles current ongoing trouble on the moon colony, Kara narrates the choices and events that got her here. No specific occasion, but rather a list of grievances from mild to worse, surrounding her treatment as a hero on Earth. In a world of Supers, Kara was never the #1 choice for anyone, not even her own cousin or his son. She came to Earth with a purpose, but by the time she arrived, others had long since fulfilled her care-taking duties, and she wasn't needed. But still She stayed, and fought alongside all the others. But, Bennett repeats, no one ever chose her. No one but Krypto. As the story goes along, we don't get any definitive notes to identify the year, or how long she's been off Earth, but we do learn that she founded this colony for others like her, who don't feel welcome wherever they are. Even now, those beings living on the colony are hesitant to accept Kara, and she ever continues to work for their survival. All the while, Kara is working to teach and adapt a new citizen to the colony--a princess of an alien race, who holds inside her head a giant gem that allows just one member of her race enormous, bigger-than-Kara powers. She tells Kara her story, and how the dark half of her family is searching her out to kill and steal the gem. The story ends with those same family members arriving in brutal darkness, forcing Kara to let loose her ages of frustration and anger on them. Part two of Kara's Future State story will surely show how the new Superwoman ends the battle, and how she'll come to terms with her life in this period. This issue was thoughtful, heartfelt, and genuine, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Marguerite's wrap up the show.
Future State: Justice League #1
I wasn't expecting to like Future State Justice League nearly as much as I did. The team lineup is entirely new: Tim Fox Batman, Yara Flor Wonder Woman, Jo Mullein Green Lantern, Arthur and Mera's daughter Andy as Aquawoman, a nonbinary, alt-Earth Flash, and Jon Kent as Superman. Most of these characters are either entirely new, or have only been written by one or two people before, so I wasn't sure how well characterized they'd be here. Regardless, my concerns were unfounded. What seems to have stood out for this new team is the relationships writer Joshua Williamson developed behind the scenes, giving the characters' interactions enough meat to stand on. But while this JL is "all-new, all-different" in terms of membership, it also has a new dynamic in terms of those same relationships. After an unnamed former Leaguer apparently used his fellow members' secret identities to destroy the team some decades ago, the new League follows a main rule of "no sharing your identity." This means that while Yara Flor is the new Wonder Woman and others are in the additional roles, no one on the team knows her, and the same goes for all the other team members. To get the explanations of the current timeline kick-started, the issue starts with a villain monologuing the history of this new era of Leaguers. He tells fellow villains of a few of their accomplishments, solidifying the idea of their legitimacy and strength in this time period. This simple plot device gave readers key insight on the individual members, without wordy narration or pages of backstory, while also setting up a narrative on the current Legion of Doom. That narrative is cut short, however, when we first see this new Justice league at the Legion's collective murder scene. They've all been taken out, brutally, at the old Hall of Justice. As the heroes take in the scene and its surroundings, Andy talks a little of her time here as a child, when her parents were on the League. In this sense, we get an understanding that there is widespread knowledge of legacy among the former heroes and these, but all real identities are still hidden. We witness a dalliance from this rule when the scene is scoured, and the heroes go on their various ways. Wonder Woman ends up flying off with Superman and some hot dogs to have a private conversation about this very rule on the roof. During their encounter, we learn a few things from the conversation. First, this is many years into their relationship. This week's Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman series is their first meeting, so now we have some idea of a timeline. Yara also calls him Jon, and he calls her by Yara, as well. The Big Two of the League's breaking of the League's own secret identity rule brings into question how well others are playing this game, too. But Yara believes, or at least tells herself, that it's safer to stand by the rule, and they go their separate ways. The issue was sprinkled with imagery that gave further insight into the lives and times of this era's Justice League. We see Yara Flor dancing at a club, then silent and alone at it's bar when everyone has gone home. We see Tim Fox's Batman landing atop speeding cars in a futuristic Gotham, then sit at home with his head in his hands, his empty suit on the bed next to him. We see Superman take off into the stars, only to arrive at the Fortress of Solitude to see his father is still out of contact range--something we can easily assume he checks regularly. And we see former cop Jo Mullein using her well-forged detective skills to search out more evidence in the crime scene. As all of this goes on, Superman narrates about how he feels what the team needs is each other--truly knowing each other, and that means their secret identities. And as his thoughts go on, we can see that he's right, his team does need each other more than they'd admit right now. But this idea of wanting to keep their identities secret is immediately proved wrong, again, even in addition to his and Yara's secret friendship. In a scene at Arthur Curry's old lighthouse, where Andy now lives, we learn that she and the Flash are friends, at the very least. After speaking with her unseen parents on some kind of aqua-telepathy network, she's met by this new Flash, who calls her by Andy, and who she calls Jess. Again, another pair of League members who don't follow their only rule. Their relationship isn't well defined in the few panels they share together, but they're at least close enough for Jess to hand-feed their lady-friend some popcorn. The issue ends with each team member being captured by fakes of another, who later reveal themselves to be a group of morphing, metallic beings called the Hyperclan. I have no previous knowledge of this group, but they seem to be set on replacing the Justice League. We don't know as of yet where the true League was taken, but I would hope they're going to end up close enough that they can plan their escape and decide to be real friends.
Home Sick Pilots #2
I love when an indie series grabs me by the brain in the very first issue, like a perfect match. Home Sick Pilots was definitely a perfect match for me, which I find a little funny, seeing as it takes place the year I was born. Now that I've outed how old I am, let's discuss why this series already has me ready to market and their behalf. The first that that grabs you is the art. The color palette is mostly cool, using lots of tones of pinks and purples. If you've ever seen art by Robin Eisenberg, there are a lot of similarities in Caspar Wijngaard's coloring. His lines are thick and confident, giving the work a very clean look. Additionally, his somewhat unusual use of white where we might normally see black, such as in the line-work and in character designs, adds to the individuality of the comic's look and feel. He makes normal scenes of teenagers standing around talking look like beautiful scenes-capes out of someone's dreams. Each character is given a different tweak on the traditional "punk" style, and a lot of the main cast are characters of color. This all being said, it's not a comic for the light of heart. Wijngaard's art softens emotional blows of the story, coming from backstory ad current events alike, making it seem a lot lighter and kinder than it might really be. But the story isn't bad, in fact it's the kind of story I aspire to write in my own work. Unique, individual, and intensely intriguing--exactly like Wijngaard's's work. While the brutality of the first issue laid mainly in emotional blows from the past, it ended in the brutal destruction of a rival gang/high school band. This issue starts where that left off, with the mentally scarred main characters in total and complete shock and fear. The most of the rest of the issue is for catching us up and Ami, and what she was up to during that scene of awful death. Since several items had been taken from the house that possessed the spirits of ghosts, Ami was on a mission to find one, hidden in a horseshoe that gives constant good luck to the bearer. While that sounds like a great deal, when Ami finds the girl who holds it, she learns the opposite. Luck is only worth it when there are less-great times to compare it to. The woman tells Ami of missing the feeling of rain on her face, long-term relationships, and more. She tells her of having tried to kill herself, alongside a friend, but only wound up with grief. The horseshoe changed her life, but not for the better, not really. Ami at last discovers a power within herself to detach the bearer from the old bent metal, but the girl is too lost, and Ami can't watch as she plunges from the rooftop to her death. The lesson is brutal and harsh, but clear as day. When she returns to the house, it looks as if nothing happened while she was gone. She even checks in with the creaking walls, which lie and confirm all was silent in her absence. With the return of the horseshoe to it's resting place above the door, Ami meets the spirit inside. It's an honestly terrifying old-fashioned man in a suit, but everything above his teeth is just horseshoe. He is completely something out of a nightmare, and definitely looking to give Ami a little spook with his sudden appearance. But she holds her own, knowing the house is always watching and casting judgement. She greets the ghost kindly, and he goes away. But as the issue ends, we see him standing in the doorway behind her, and we know this terror is yet to end. It's odd to read a comic that makes my skin crawl with horror, but the art softens the blow. The duality of story and styling is unlike anything I've ever seen, and is one of the most perfect fits for writing and art in the biz. As clarified by the horseshoe ghost, there are six other ghosts the house will send Ami to find. I can only imagine what oddities she'll come across, and what characters will learn hard lessons. And, based on these first two issues, the real thing will be far superior to anything I'm imagining.
Lonely Receiver #5
What a wild ride this mini-series has been. I don't want to review this final issue as much as I want to talk about what the main character, Catrin, learned by the end. The series started with a rough breakup fight. Catrin making bold claims about everything she has done for her partner, who is cold, calm, and set in her mind about leaving. When she is gone, Catrin sits alone, half-naked, tears in her eyes. She's passed hysterical, and is not in a clear mindset when she makes her next big decision--to create a digital partner, and AI who will be everything she ever wanted out of a wife. She initiates the program, and her responses to it's queries are further indicative that she is not thinking clearly. When we meet the artificial Rhion, the two have been together for a decade already. Catrin seems to have everything she wants, except for how Rhion has slowly started puling away. Through a series of arguments and discussions, it comes out that Rhion has long-since started seeing other people, and is in love with many of them, and is just as dedicated to many of them as she is to Catrin. The betrayal is harsh to the human partner, who created Rhion with the sole desire of having someone to, ultimately, obsess over her, and follow through with her every whim and desire. She had it for years, or so she had thought. When they finally confront one another, the argument ends in a slap, and Rhion simply disappears. Behind the similarities of this world to our own, there is something technologically sinister. It's left partially unexplained, to our own interpretation, but the gist is this--there is a technology to connect yourself to a virtual world of ultimately whatever you want. Think of it like the internet, but you are in it, doing things. For those like Catrin, they bring their AI partners in to a place they call the Garden, and have simulated sex. Some kind of neurological sensors and ports control the physical sensations. Anyone else wold take Rhion's sudden disappearance as a sure-fire breakup signal, but Catrin becomes determined to find her former partner. She goes to the customer service location for the AI program, and isn't given any real help. But the assistant does drop her a hint that there's another level to the Garden, to the program, and maybe Rhion is there. After searching endlessly on her own, Catrin contacts the man outside of the help clinic. What he sets her up with is unsettling and bizarre. If the program Catrin connects to is like the internet, then it makes sense there would be a Dark Web. With a modified sex swing to be a control harness, a layer of connective goo for the simulations, and a full face sex mask to feel sensation, Catrin dives back into the Garden. She enters a world of sex, depravity, and strangers that just gets darker as she dives deeper, always searching for Rhion. As the series goes on, a figure made of shadows begins lingering around Catrin more and more, like a scary shadow. The longer she is without Rhion, the more the figure appears. It has a clear connection to her, in the Garden or in the real world, and it is always there, watching. By the final issue, Rhion has gone so deep into the program that she has lost some semblance of her own personhood. She barely remembers who she is, or what regular life is like. No doubt the distance she has fallen has opened her to malware, of a sort, as well. In the final issue, Catrin realizes that what she is looking for isn't Rhion, because Rhion wasn't real. I know it's going to sound cheesy, but what she was looking for was there, in her, the whole time. Catrin pulls herself from the program, destroys the gear, and frees herself from the sex suit. After months of time in the dark, desperately hoping to find someone who no longer wishes to be found, Catrin has realized her best ally is herself. Okay, there was a lot more that happened, and a lot more detail into what I explained. Lonely Receiver was worth the read, and is a comic I would recommend to fans of introspection, trippy sci-fi horror, and lessons being taught by unusual means
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