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Review: ‘Serenity: Leaves On the Wind’ #1

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If you’re a fan of Joss Whedon’s work, then reading this comic is a no-brainer. If not, then you are seriously missing out on quality storytelling. From television to comic books to film, Whedon and his kin are pretty savvy when it comes to entertaining. “Serenity: Leaves On the Wind” #1 is a picture-perfect a start to the latest adventures of Malcolm Reynolds and his space-cowboys (and girls) crew aiming to misbehave.

WRITTEN BY: Zack Whedon
ART BY: Georges Jeanty
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: January 29, 2014

I’ve come to realize that there are different variations of fans when it comes to all things Whedon. Some are blind faith followers of everything he and his creative collaborators have done and ever will do. Others are a little more picky. Then, I believe, there are those whom end up being at that perfect point in their lives when one of these Whedon creations grabs you tight and does not let go. I liked Buffy, really liked Angel, but missed out on the first run of Firefly (like most people). Better late than never, I always say! I’m a big fan and it’s great to see Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #1 picks up after the events of the film Serenity. We see how these fictional characters that seem so very alive to fans are coping with life after the planet Miranda.

The ‘verse is searching for the crew of Serenity. There’s a bounty on the heads of this bunch, so into hiding they go. Writer Zack Whedon has made this first issue feel and sound just like the rest of the beloved series does from the TV series and film. The set-ups feel just like they should for a new chapter: jumping from scene to scene, whetting the appetites of what will unfurl down the road. I’m fascinated to see where different people across the Alliance worlds are reacting to the big events of what happened previously. As big a game-changer as Mal and his crew were hoping for, it seems change moves slowly in the future.

Artist Georges Jeanty has a lot of experience when it comes to the Whedon-verses. His run on Buffy helped give those tales some great cohesion and creativity. His streak at artistic virtuosity continues here. From the barren darkness of space to the grimier holes to the homey feel of the ship Serenity itself, Jeanty has mastered them all.

This team has things running so smoothly that words aren’t needed to see the progressions that some of our favorite characters have taken. I was feeling all the great ups and downs that I did when I watched the episodes way back when. This family Mal has made means everything to him, even if he won’t or can’t say so. When kin need helping, there’s nothing in this ‘verse that’s going to stop him. And that is what makes this creation from the Whedons, in my humble opinion, one of their best. Danger be damned! Heart is what makes that ship fly even when it shouldn’t. These creators have captured it here. Let’s see where they take it next, shall we?

4.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady

Comics

[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.

“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”

Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.

Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.

Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.

Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re  reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.

Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.

Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.

Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.

Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion. 

Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.

‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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