FML #1 Dark Horse Comics
First (issue) impression
W: Kelly Sue DeConnick
A: David Lopez
C: Cris Peter
L: Clayton Cowles
Synopsis…Riley is a teen that sketches out his heavy metal future with a ballpoint pen between monster movies and band practice. But musical stardom needs to compete with high school, the temper of a former Riot Grrrl mother, the morbid obsessions of a goth sister, and the eccentricities of bandmates that threaten to drive him and everyone around him insane.
The balance gets harder after a ritual during a party in Portland’s Forest Park causes him to wake up one day to discover that the creatures, witchcraft, and metal world he’s obsessed with may be a bit closer to home than he preferred.
Thoughts…This book does a great job of pulling you into it almost instantly, the vibrant first page with the world on fire and the song lyrics seemingly to sum up the way things are right now (8/11/24) and then snap we are into the comic running. It becomes apparent very quickly that this is going to be something very different from the norm, there are five different styles of illustration on the 2nd page alone, giving the whole thing an extremely unique presentation.
The writing in this first issue is spot on, there is a lot of feeling to the whole thing. There are some great moments of humour and it all has a very organic realistic tone to it all. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to, each has their own defined personality that comes through in the storytelling really well. This comic has a great slice of life feel to it throughout, these first glimpses into the characters life, especially Riley’s, really helps to get you wanting to know more about them and invested.
With the illustration side of things this comic really goes to places you rarely see in comics, well not all at the same time anyway. There are multiple styles of comic imagery throughout, you really need to see it to know how well it's all put together. From black and white to vivid vibrant backdrops, Manga like panels coupled with rough sketch like work, defined lines mix in with fuzzy edges. It's visually stunning and the colours really jump off the pages in places so much that I swear the comic actually glows.
I really enjoyed this comic, a great first issue and one I will definitely be reading on with. There is a cliffhanger at the end of the issue that will I am sure change everything going into the 2nd issue and I am very interested in seeing where this goes. Witty and clever writing match perfectly with stunning art and colours, what more could you want. This is a 9 out of 10 for me, a great introduction to a very interesting new comic series
