Comics roundup #8: a romp with Delilah and a sense of Faith

In between reading Song of Kali and When Breath Becomes Air, I grabbed a couple comics to cleanse my palate. Song of Kali shook me up and When Breath Becomes Air left me deeply introspective. The comics were fun breaks to get me out of reading funks and in the mood for another book.

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

Genre:

Adventure, YA

Goodreads overview:

Lovable ne’er-do-well Delilah Dirk has travelled to Japan, Indonesia, France, and even the New World. Using the skills she’s picked up on the way, Delilah’s adventures continue as she plots to rob a rich and corrupt Sultan in Constantinople. With the aid of her flying boat and her newfound friend, Selim, she evades the Sultan’s guards, leaves angry pirates in the dust, and fights her way through the countryside. For Delilah, one adventure leads to the next in this thrilling and funny installment in her exciting life.

A little bit Tintin, a little bit Indiana Jones, Delilah Dirk is a great pick for any reader looking for a smart and foolhardy heroine…and globetrotting adventures.

My Thoughts:

I forgot how I found out about this graphic novel but I know I bought it because of the title and the illustration on the cover. The cover looks like there’s a fun story within.

But unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I thought I’d laugh and speed through the pages, which is the intended reaction from the reader, but such wasn’t the case. I thought the story was okay but I didn’t fall for the funny moments.

Also, I thought the story would be about Delilah but it focuses on Selim, the Turkish lieutenant, who prefers good food and company to life on the road but grows to enjoy Delilah’s company and the thrill of adventure. We don’t focus on Delilah, but we learn about her as Selim. She’s a fun character. She’s courageous and stubborn but also a little silly. Between hers and Selim’s antics, I’m sure other readers found this graphic novel hilarious.

My only major issue with the storytelling is that I was confused after reading the section where Selim daydreams about the future outcome of his choices. I read that part thinking it was the plot moving forward only to learn it was a dream, which was a little frustrating. I guess it was Cliff’s intention to trick the reader there but I didn’t like it.

As for the art, I loved the illustrations. The lines are clean, the colors have a smooth texture and are a little subdued, and the action frames are easy to follow. It’s all very beautiful.

Overall: ★★☆☆☆1/2

It’s a fun graphic novel that its intended audience will love. It just didn’t work for me. I do recommend it, even if it’s just to pick it up to look at the illustrations.

My favorite scene in the book. It looks better on the pages.

---

Faith, #1 by Jody Houser, illus. by Francis Portela and Marguerite Sauvage, colors by Andrew Dalhouse

Genre:

Sci-fi/fantasy action superhero, YA

Goodreads overview:

Orphaned at a young age, Faith Herbert — a psionically gifted “psiot” discovered by the Harbinger Foundation — has always aspired to greatness. But now this once ordinary teenager is taking control of her destiny and becoming the hard-hitting hero she’s always known she can be — complete with a mild-mannered secret identity, unsuspecting colleagues, and a day job as a reporter that routinely throws into her harms way! Well, at least she thought it would… When she’s not typing up listicles about cat videos, Faith makes a secret transformation to patrol the night as the City of Angels’ own leading superhero — the sky-soaring Zephyr!

But flying solo is going to be tougher than Zephyr ever thought when she uncovers a deep-rooted alien conspiracy. Two-bit burglars and car thieves are one thing, but when the world needs a hero to stave off a full-blown extraterrestrial invasion, will Faith find herself in over her head…or ready for her biggest challenge yet?

My thoughts:

I picked up the first issue of Faith because of the buzz around it. Everyone said it’s great and I also liked that the protagonist is a plus-sized superhero.

This first issue was just a quick introduction to the comic to get us acquainted with the character, Faith Herbert, whose superhero persona is called Zephyr. Faith can fly and is also telekinetic. She was once part of a superhero team, but is now on her own. She recently broke up with her boyfriend, another superhero, which is major news, which is one of the stories she has to work on as her normal alter-ego Summer Smith, who works as a reporter.

Despite normalcy and independence, Faith is a little bored and is ready for a challenge so she takes on a few criminal cases as Zephyr, one of which is about missing psiots (humans with special abilities like Faith).

I wasn’t as interested in this comic as I thought I’d be but I think that’s because the first issue is short at only 24 pages, which isn’t enough for me to get a strong sense of the story and determine whether or not I like it. But it has potential so I’m willing to give the first volume a try. I like Faith’s personality. She seems upbeat and fun and I like that the story mixes in modern technology so Faith texts and has video chats and such and deals with issues I’m familiar with like choosing to fly to avoid traffic (not that I can fly. If I could, I’d be in Rio right now).

I’m not a big fan of the artwork. The illustrations are okay but sometimes the colors threw me off and the characters’ eyes look weird sometimes because of the big light reflection in them. I do like how Faith is drawn and I like that she’s fat because we never see fat, female superheroes.

Overall: ★★☆☆☆1/2

I gave it a low rating because I was bored by it but I’m hopeful that I’ll be a fan after reading the first volume.

Faith at home.

---

Imperium, #13, Part 1: Stormbreak by Joshua Dysart, illus. by Khari Evans, colors by Ulises Arreola (a preview)

Quick overview:

So at the end of Faith there was a 5-page preview of Imperium, #13, Part 1 that was due to be published in February (I bought this issue of Faith a while back).

I have no fucking idea what it’s about but I loved it! 😀

My thoughts:

My thoughts here will be short because I don’t know what was going in this preview. I just know that I liked it.

I was sold on the protagonist, who is a Black female superhero named Amanda McKee, a.k.a. Livewire, who can manipulate technology or just data systems. I don’t know, man. I just know that she messes with the computers. Anyways, her eyes light up and she has dreadlocks and I was like YEAHIE!!! I must read this shit!

Yea, I know. Totally irrational but I just like superheroes like that and her backstory looks interesting too (we get a snippet of it).

I wasn’t crazy about the art though. It’s not my style.

Overall: ★★★★★

Five stars for the preview because I want to read it now!

A dude, young Livewire, older Livewire

Advertisement