Skyward #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Story: Joe Henderson
Pencils: Lee Garbett
Colors: Antonio Fabela
Letters: Simon Bowland
Cover: Lee Garbett
Willa Fowler is a woman living in a world where the sky’s the limit, literally. Growing up after G-day, a day when the law of gravity was turned on its head, Willa has always known what it’s like to fly. Where her biggest worry is flying too close to the sun Willa casually enjoys her weightlessness, using it to it’s every advantage while she does her job as a Messenger. However, things aren’t all flights of fancy for everyone in this gravityless reality. Willa’s father Nate, having lost his wife and love in the early stages of G-day has become devoted to reversing it. Something that may prove to be dangerous for them both.
Joe Henderson’s opening feels like a bright and vibrant suspense thriller. We see Willa as a baby while her mother and father lovingly interact before the inevitable “end of everything” scenario in a way that I have to admit is really well done. It isn’t hard to fall in love with this family in just a few short panels and in turn feel sad for them when things turn south. Fast forward 20 years and the world is very different. We see Willa as a young woman carelessly enjoying the weightlessness that she’s always known and basically just going about her day. While this introduction to Willa is well drawn it ruins the tone set by the opening. This glimpse into Willa’s personality doesn’t do anything to truly push the story or garner interest as Henderson seems to go out of his way to make Willa the “hero” of this story (she even risks her life to deliver milk to children). However, he may have inadvertently made Nate Fowler the character that readers should be looking out for. His lose and drive is immediately understandable and as a reader you’d be hard pressed not to empathize with him on a level that Willa just can’t match.
Skyward is gorgeous and i’m unsurprised as Image’s pool of artists never cease to amaze me. Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela breath a lot of life into the world of Skyward between seamless linework and a bevy of bright and vibrant colors. Garbett’s style gives the book a sense of levity and a carefree feeling when appropriate and Fabela’s coloring emphasises tone with aggressive reddish hues when the story takes a more serious tone. A trend i’m noticing more and more in modern comic storytelling. Their combined talent truly makes this issue worth a look as the cover almost instantly caught my eye from the shelf.
All in all Skyward issue #1 is a very cool book. It’s beautiful as most Image properties are and with Henderson’s writing experiences in television he may be playing the long game narratively, attempting to layer Willa as time goes on. With that being said, Issue #1 as it stands feels like a cookie. It’s opening and ending interactions with Nate Fowler were the most compelling things about it but Willa herself, who takes center stage throughout the middle of the issue, felt very generic. She’s got a nice smile, she’s angsty and kind hearted which is great for young readers and noteworthy for a teen female protagonist of color no less. However, she fails to stand out as a lead amongst a slew of other comic protagonists of her kind including Image’s own Domino Swift of Motor Crush. Honestly, I already know i’ll be buying the second issue. Nate’s story breeds curiosity and begs your attention! Is he obsessed with restoring gravity? Is his desire to restore gravity even the right thing to do? Will his obsession lead him to become a villain or is he the voice of reason in a topsy turvy world? I admit that if nothing else Henderson has sparked in me the desire to find these answers and as long as it doesn’t get silly i’ll be along for the ride.
Eric Snell
esnell@comicattack.net
