Skottie Young, story
Jorge Corona, art
Jean-Francois Beaulieu, colors
Nate Peikos of Blambot, lettering
Recap
In the previous issue, Jeb is unsuccessful in his attempt to stop Abel’s father from pursuing the carnival where Abel is. Meanwhile, back at the carnival, Jeb’s sister Maggie uses her special powers to read Abel’s mind to anticipate the danger he might be facing from his father. However, Abel gets stuck in his memory of his father causing everyone at the carnival to be at risk. In this issue, Abel has transformed into a huge tornado of anger and rage. The carnival is under grave danger and people run for their lives, including all of Abel’s newly found friends. Jeb arrives to diffuse Abel’s anger and spares everyone’s lives. However, Abel is overwhelmed with guilt due to the damage he’s caused and the danger he presented to his friends. He runs from the carnival. Maggie tells him that he is no longer welcomed at the carnival. The fox follows Abel and consoles him.
My favorite part of this book is the metaphor of a tornado that Abel’s disease and rage-response represents. Tornadoes ares powerful and make people feel helpless; similarly, familial connection between Abel and his father presents a challenge for him to overcome.
I loved the loyalty shown by the fox, Abel’s loyal companion. It’s interesting and fitting that the wily fox is unafraid while everyone else in Abel’s life has bailed him. And again, the human-like robot, Wrench, who shows compassion by saving others and putting himself in harm’s way represents how humane the inhuman characters are in this world.
The art is bright, descriptive, and kinetic in the way it presents the emotional energy of the characters. Abel and his father’s rage can be felt because of how they are portrayed. I highly recommend this story for fans of coming of age comics with a lesson to tell. Overall = 9/10
