Image Comics 2018
Written by Joe Henderson
Illustrated by Lee Garbett
Coloured by Antonio Fabela
Lettered by Simon Bowland
One day, gravity on earth suddenly became a fraction of what it is now. Twenty years later, humanity has adapted to its new low-gravity reality. And to Willa Fowler, a woman born just after G-day, it’s…well, it’s pretty awesome, actually. You can fly through the air! I mean, sure, you can also die if you jump too high. So you just don’t jump too high. And maybe don’t stumble into a dangerous plan to bring gravity back that could get you killed….
Sometimes it’s better when you just don’t get a scientific explanation for something and just blindly go with it. The opening is fantastic it kind of puts us into the perspective of how Nate feels after going through what he we see. As the day gravity almost disappears. For those of us paying attention there are nuggets of information here that hopefully will be explored further as the series goes onward, upward and possibly downward.
Normally I am no a fan of jumping into the future but for this story it works just fine. The way that Joe structures this book calls for it all things considered. Also that it focuses on Nate’s daughter Willa is how the past ties to the future and why the flow works so well. The flow is great and while it doesn’t miss a beat and the lack of any kind of explanation just that what is is what is kind of makes things more light-headed in some aspects.
So once the spotlight is on Willa we begin to see more of what life is like in this new world. For those who were born around the time it happened well they’ve never known what heavier gravity felt like, never walked on the streets and don’t know what life was like. It really is this great generation gap analogy happening you don’t really notice at first but when you do it you have no choice but grin, laugh and think yeah. We were all young once, or still are, so we all know what fighting with parents or those older than we are is like when it comes to trying to assert your independence.
I like Lee’s work on the interiors he has a good sense of proportions and to see the effects of folks in low gravity is nicely done here. I am such a huge fan of what I see here and the way backgrounds are an important part of the story and make the scope of what we see that much more larger than life. They expand scenes and set up some quirky jokes and overall every aspect of the flying and the effects needed to stay grounded make sense. There is nothing that we see that doesn’t make the story that much better. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see these angles and perspective show such a good, strong, solid eye for storytelling. Also the colouring is superb and I love the Crossing Ahead sign and how it looks aged again such a perfect compliment to what we see.
I like how we see that flying is great but low gravity too has it’s death traps about it. That not all is carefree and fun, that Willa works and still lives with her father. Is not good at flirting but still it’s all human traits that make the story what it is. The characterisation is sensational and the way the book just flows has a great quality to it and with that almost surprise ending yeah this is going to be something to much different than I had expected and I can’t wait to explore it with Willa!