Most of you reading this are superhero fans, you’ve seen the Avengers movies, the Dark Knight and all the Netflix shows. Your comic book collection is bagged and boarded and it’s mostly superhero books. That’s fine, mine is the same. Can I encourage you to read something good that isn’t superhero related?
***Warning: There are no superheroes, no masks, no secret identities, no tights in this comic.***
It felt right to give you a warning. If you give Skyward a chance, you’ll be hooked before you get to the staples in the center of issue #1. It’s currently on issue 5 so there’s still time to catch up and find the first few issues. Issue #1 went to a second printing so people are noticing this book. All Skyward Issues This is linked to Comics Price Guide so that you can see all the current issues. Sony has picked up the rights to this book so you better hurry.
This isn’t a spoiler-filled review. No real spoilers at all.
A young family’s morning routine is interrupted by a dramatic and catastrophic event, low gravity. That major event, that gravity stopped pulling people back to earth, is the catalyst for everything else. This family is fighting to survive this catastrophic event that changed so many things. Don’t go into it expecting a gritty tale with zombies and monsters (yet), it’s an intriguing tale about how life would be different.
Who would excel in that environment?
How can you exercise in zero gravity?
How would you water plants? (get food?)
Who would profit from low gravity?
How would fears change?
What things would become obsolete and what things would become essential?
How would you keep your kids safe?
You can see that there are more topics for Joe Henderson, the writer of Skyward, to delve into with later issues. In each issue, there are clever comments, action sequences, twists and unique happenings. It’s fun to read.
The unique story pulled me in but the splash pages are gorgeous. The artist, Lee Garbett, helps tell the story with his normal pages and then when the story comes to a dramatic point, the art is better and bigger. It is like he saves it all up for these ridiculous splash pages that give you a sense of wonder. Below is a small splash page from issue #1. The covers are beautiful and capture some of the awe that is contained within.
Give this a try, issue #5 which just came out is amazing and horrible. Read it and you’ll see what I mean.
by Ron Cloer
