IDW Publishing 2015
Written by John Fawcett, Graeme Manson & Jody Houser
Illustrated by Alan Quah & Cat Staggs
Coloured by Chris Fenoglio & Eelco Koper
Cosima is probably the most unique of the girls as she’s the scientist and a lesbian and her look and style make her stand out in the crowd and the struggles we’ve seen her endure in the show have definitely made her a fan favorite. So learning more about her and her background is one of those rare treats for a reader such as myself. It’s just too bad this is a one shot and not a multiple part story arc.
I have to say that seeing Cosima break up with Emi in the beginning claiming she’s not ready for a long-term relationship or that she isn’t one to be “had” right now that she wants to focus on her studies shows us the brainy girl in full swing. She’s dedicated in what she wants to do and personal feelings can’t factor into it all. She’s really very much like her no nonsense character on the show.
More surprising is that Emi was working for Doctor Leekie and was supposed to be her monitor. Emi’s story though doesn’t end there and we see that Leekie has made a mistake in choosing this girl for the job as she becomes even more emotionally unstable after the breakup and is determined to be Cosima again and will go to whatever lengths she can to get her back. Emi isn’t going to be deterred and after being rejected by Leekie and the company she becomes really scary. The characterization here is pretty amazing and as these events unfold you wonder why she hasn’t turned up in the series because let’s face it she would’ve blown the lid off things with her revelations.
I have to say though seeing Beth and Cosima together talking long before Sara entered the picture leaves me wanting to learn more. Here we do see that they talk about the German Janika whom we saw die very early on and what she has. Also how Beth and Cosima were able to meet and talk and get Cosima to change her major to be more helpful in the whole science aspect of what they are going through. They need this to understand themselves better and with all this happening Dr. Leekie sends Delphine to Minnesota to be her friend and new monitor.
There is one major shocker in all this and that’s when we see Delphine and Leekie are lovers something I either missed or blocked out from the series. This now makes me wonder about Delphine and the sincerity of her relationship with Cosima. So many new possible character developments happening here that compliment the series and give us this wonderful characterization that really makes this so appealing to read.
This fantastic for people who haven’t started watching the series yet and definitely a must have for established fans. Orphan Black is quite the phenomenon and it translates perfectly to the comics medium.