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Hexagon #1
Publisher: Impact Theory Comics
Story: Tom Bilyeu, Don Diablo, Michael Moreci
Artist: Jheremy Raapack
Colorist: Abraham Lee, David Kim, Nuo Xu
Letters: A Larger World Studios, Farhad Heydarian, Abraham Lee
Covers: Jorge Corona, Julien Cittadino, Nuo Xu

The resurgence of ‘80s era nostalgia in popular culture, particularly of the young adult variety, has been undeniable over the last decade. From Transformers to The Karate Kid, the properties “that made us” have been mined with questionable persistence by the film and television industries, generally to middling effect. As exploitative as it may seem sometimes, I won’t knock the trend entirely. I feel like comics is one market where this modality works extremely well since with comics, nostalgia isn’t so much renewal as practically its own genre. Comics audiences expect new books to look back, to pay homage, and draw up those old familiar feelings. It’s part of the overall appeal, likely more so than any other medium.

That is an expectation easily met by Impact Theory Comics’s Hexagon. Heavily influenced by the Last Star Fighter and story collaborator DJ Don Diablo’s childhood, Hexagon is a delightful jaunt through small town 1980’s pop culture. Young protagonist Don Van Vliet isn’t allowed to play video games with his friends but finds himself drawn to the crowd favorite, Crucible, at the local arcade. Given the opportunity to hang out after curfew and link up with his crush, Sunny, Don makes the only sensible decision under the circumstances. He sets out to assert a bit of his independence, and bond with his friends over their shared passion. What follows will set him on a life-altering journey beyond his wildest imagination. 

While it’s a predictable course to tread, Hexagon’s nostalgic callbacks prove as evocative as ever so the book doesn’t suffer for them in the least. Scripted by science fiction phenom Michael Moreci from a story developed along with Don Diablo and Tom Bilyeu, Hexagon does a great job of establishing Don as one of the more conscientious YA protagonists I’ve come across in a long while. While his choices aren’t necessarily the most responsible, his heart is always in the right place. The respect he has for his father is evident from the outset, though underlying issues related to his work and travel become apparent early on. Still, the relationship between them is not as contentious as you would find in a book like Middelwest, which was co-created by cover artist Jorge Corona. 

I was actually surprised to find how much the parental dynamic shifted my outlook on the narrative and my expectations for the book as a whole. I feel that the art team, including Jheremy Raapack and Abraham Lee, have capitalized and expounded on that tone extremely well. The clarity and colorwork give the book a bright, warm vibe that is certainly welcome in the genre. I’ll be keeping my eye on this one and look forward to sharing it with my sons. For more of our coverage of Hexagon #1, check out my interview with writer Michael Moreci here. Hexagon is currently available from Impact Theory Comics and at your local retailer.             

Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net