Blog

Bliss #1 – 3
Publisher: Image Comics
Story: Sean Lewis
Artist: Caitlin Yarsky
Cover: Caitlin Yarsky

I found Bliss to be something of an enigma early on, not in that I could not figure out what it was, but more that I could not figure out why it was. As writer Sean Lewis flies through a snappy setup, establishing the unassuming origins of Benton and Mabel O’Hara, readers may feel like the proceedings are a bit forced. In this new universe, the grit and grime of urban detritus coalesce around the denizens of Feral City, and that oppressive atmosphere is well captured by Yarsky’s distinctive artwork. Still, I have to admit that callbacks to real-world vices in the form of Mabel’s bigoted father and glaring, though truncated references to exploitative bankers, active shooters, and predatory senior care institutions may unintentionally drag the reader away from what should ostensibly be a wholly engrossing fantasy noir.    

There is a clear sense of urgency to the plotting. Lewis doesn’t waste time elaborating on the points of similarity to the real world. They are hollow and almost coercively positioned, and as such the worldbuilding feels disingenuous and is unnecessarily jarring. I would go so far as to say people have had enough of the real world vice and malfeasance. I find myself wishing that the creative team put more effort in these early pages into establishing what is new and distinguishable about Feral City. Glimpses of the dark, old world apparitions that rule the Feral City underworld are far more compelling to the imagination, but more diverting to the harried mind.

Lovecraftian overtones notwithstanding, the penitent slog of Perry defending his father before an apparent inquisition only further dilutes the dark fantasy potential bursting at the seams here. The nonlinear progression is haphazardly applied, and by the time we find out how Benton came to be so reviled by the Feral City citizenry it’s really difficult to care if he’s worthy of the redemption Perry seeks. All the while, in the back of my mind a little voice screams out for more absorbing exposition on the seedy undercurrents that rule these streets and have corrupted the halls of power. 

This is not the most interesting story that has played out in this city, that much is obvious. Give me more of a focus on Bliss, on the Goddess of Oblivion Lethe who thrives on its prevalence, on the communities and infrastructure it has infected, detailing how it has metastasized. Instead we are steadfastly mired in a procedurally manifested redemptive arc led by an uninteresting protagonist on behalf of an undeserving killer, who is ultimately a casualty of his own despondency and impotence.  In the half hearted attempt to justify his wanting acquiescence, our attention is duly called to the privilege of forgetfulness. The privilege of the transgressor to intrinsically absolve their own memory, lest they be lost to the debilitating anguish of guilt and shame. 

In forgetting we assuage the trauma and give ourselves “permission” to move forward. This track is as hamfisted and offensive elegy as those earlier attempts at infusing grounding commentary. I’m rooting for the mob in Benton’s trial because they are justly enraged by his indifference, by his willingness to sacrifice his own humanity and the lives of others, only then to blame the vector of his subservience that he willingly accepted. I don’t hate Bliss at all, I simply want this narrative to aspire to more than it currently represents. Lewis and Yarsky have an intimidating deficit to overcome to win me over, but then Benton’s is a tale of redemption and there appears to be a lot more of that story to tell. 

Bliss #1 will hit shelves July 22nd!

Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net