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becks_books's review
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I feel like my understanding of what was happening in this series was definitely hampered by not having read any Valiant comics about what happens before this comic starts. It's very confusing to begin with because of this, however things are cleared up quite well more towards the end of the comic, though maybe a page at the beginning catching any new readers up on what had previously happened would have helped a lot.
The character of Livewire is quite interesting, though I felt like clearly she was wrong in what she did and I didn't really understand how she couldn't see that, but a part of that comes from a lack of my understanding of the character and how she was raised and the things she's been through, so again, towards the end when we get flashbacks and we see some of that it makes more sense
This didn't feel super original to me, just from reading this volume the psiots don't seem very different to mutants and Harada seemed like he was very similar to Magneto, obviously I'm just going off the small amounts of information gleaned from this volume so I can't say that the psiots/harbingers don't have anything unique going for them, it just didn't seem to have much unique from what I saw in this volume.
I quite liked the art, and I've seen some people say they didn't like the colour choices. There's a lot of pinks and blues so sometimes the page looks like it's being lighted by a neon sign but I quite like that look.
Overall, not the easiest introduction into Valiant comics, but quite a good volume.
I feel like my understanding of what was happening in this series was definitely hampered by not having read any Valiant comics about what happens before this comic starts. It's very confusing to begin with because of this, however things are cleared up quite well more towards the end of the comic, though maybe a page at the beginning catching any new readers up on what had previously happened would have helped a lot.
The character of Livewire is quite interesting, though I felt like clearly she was wrong in what she did and I didn't really understand how she couldn't see that, but a part of that comes from a lack of my understanding of the character and how she was raised and the things she's been through, so again, towards the end when we get flashbacks and we see some of that it makes more sense
Spoiler
I still felt like I wasn't on her side until she apologised at the end and showed regret for how she acted and the deaths she'd caused, I felt like this kind of character growth was really important for the character moving forward and I think future volumes of this comic will be more enjoyable now that she's truly sorry for what she's done. So this volume wasn't super enjoyable to read but without it the character couldn't really have move forward.This didn't feel super original to me, just from reading this volume the psiots don't seem very different to mutants and Harada seemed like he was very similar to Magneto, obviously I'm just going off the small amounts of information gleaned from this volume so I can't say that the psiots/harbingers don't have anything unique going for them, it just didn't seem to have much unique from what I saw in this volume.
I quite liked the art, and I've seen some people say they didn't like the colour choices. There's a lot of pinks and blues so sometimes the page looks like it's being lighted by a neon sign but I quite like that look.
Overall, not the easiest introduction into Valiant comics, but quite a good volume.
krys_and_books's review
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
TW: there are scenes of torture/brutal beating, involuntary medical procedure and typical comic book violence
Livewire is an interesting character. Amanda McKee, a WOC, is a psiot who can control electricity. In an event that I feel a little lost on she caused a major blackout to protect other psiots she felt responsible for and caused mass amounts of damage and death with it. She’s been branded as a terrorist and is being hunted down and has been on the run trying to keep her head down and out of trouble.
The interesting thing about Livewire is the crossroads she finds herself at. She knows in protecting her family she did wrong but she also knows she can’t turn herself into the government to atone for her crimes that way because they are the ones that sanctioned the act of her and others like her being hunted down and killed. She wants to make up for it but she also can’t be public because what she did was so public that everyone seems to know who she is and recognize her.
I feel like I’m missing a fair bit of the story since this is only picking up after the blackout occurred and while I find the other members of Livewire’s family interesting and wanting to know more I just feel a general sort of apathy of the conversations between them because I know there is history but that history means nothing to me because I never witnessed any of it other than them meeting Livewire again after what she felt she had to do for her family and none of them really willing to be there in the same room with her. I’m definitely intrigued enough to keep reading Livewire and I’m going to look back and see if I can find the story that has the blackout and hopefully get a bit more answers to what was going on.
***
TW: there are scenes of torture/brutal beating, involuntary medical procedure and typical comic book violence
Livewire is an interesting character. Amanda McKee, a WOC, is a psiot who can control electricity. In an event that I feel a little lost on she caused a major blackout to protect other psiots she felt responsible for and caused mass amounts of damage and death with it. She’s been branded as a terrorist and is being hunted down and has been on the run trying to keep her head down and out of trouble.
The interesting thing about Livewire is the crossroads she finds herself at. She knows in protecting her family she did wrong but she also knows she can’t turn herself into the government to atone for her crimes that way because they are the ones that sanctioned the act of her and others like her being hunted down and killed. She wants to make up for it but she also can’t be public because what she did was so public that everyone seems to know who she is and recognize her.
I feel like I’m missing a fair bit of the story since this is only picking up after the blackout occurred and while I find the other members of Livewire’s family interesting and wanting to know more I just feel a general sort of apathy of the conversations between them because I know there is history but that history means nothing to me because I never witnessed any of it other than them meeting Livewire again after what she felt she had to do for her family and none of them really willing to be there in the same room with her. I’m definitely intrigued enough to keep reading Livewire and I’m going to look back and see if I can find the story that has the blackout and hopefully get a bit more answers to what was going on.
etienne02's review
1.0
Nope... Big lack of originality, horrible choice of color, why does everything as to be blue or pink?, and... I said it many time, but with those kind of super-hero comic you really have to bring something of a higher level if you want to do something worth reading that hasn't been done many time, and this one doesn't!
librarianryan's review against another edition
2.0
This was a DNF for this reader. There was just not enough there to keep my attention. It read like it was supposed to be modern noir, but that was not what I was expecting from the cover.
weirdtea's review against another edition
3.0
I think I’m missing a larger context here. So, I wouldn’t say I was inspired to explore the universe further, but the story and art were good. Cool concept.
ruthsic's review against another edition
4.0
Warnings: physical violence, themes of persecution
Rep: The main character is a black woman, and there are several secondary POC characters
Having being branded as a fugitive when trying to save her fellow psiots (I imagine it is this universe's version of mutants) and demonstrating her tremendous powers, causing a nationwide blackout, Livewire is in hiding. Her face being plastered everywhere and her being public enemy number 1, she is trying to reach out to the psiots who were her family but they too are not happy with her. Meanwhile she is being hunted by a childhood rival, and by teams of anti-psiot militia, and this can make hiding quite difficult, while also reconciling with one's actions. The story arc in this volume is about personal responsibility and the magnitude of making decisions when you have great powers. She feels guilty about the civilian deaths that happened during the blackout she caused, but she also doesn't know the entire magnitude and the personal cost to each of the survivors' and victim's families. Even so, she has to find a place within herself to come to terms with all that, and how much blame she can attribute to herself when she was pushed into a disastrous decision. It takes a while to actually understand what is going on, especially if you haven't read the blurb just before reading. So, on a plot level, it is quite a lot about the fallout, but that also means she has to face down two enemies who bring two different perspectives on the issue. The action scenes, her ingenuity, and her drive to keep fighting are well-done. The artwork is pretty good, with smooth movement and beautiful storyboards, but there were times that the color scheme made things legible. Overall, it is an interesting start to a character arc from hero to redeeming fugitive.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Valiant Entertainment LLC, via Edelweiss.
Rep: The main character is a black woman, and there are several secondary POC characters
Having being branded as a fugitive when trying to save her fellow psiots (I imagine it is this universe's version of mutants) and demonstrating her tremendous powers, causing a nationwide blackout, Livewire is in hiding. Her face being plastered everywhere and her being public enemy number 1, she is trying to reach out to the psiots who were her family but they too are not happy with her. Meanwhile she is being hunted by a childhood rival, and by teams of anti-psiot militia, and this can make hiding quite difficult, while also reconciling with one's actions. The story arc in this volume is about personal responsibility and the magnitude of making decisions when you have great powers. She feels guilty about the civilian deaths that happened during the blackout she caused, but she also doesn't know the entire magnitude and the personal cost to each of the survivors' and victim's families. Even so, she has to find a place within herself to come to terms with all that, and how much blame she can attribute to herself when she was pushed into a disastrous decision. It takes a while to actually understand what is going on, especially if you haven't read the blurb just before reading. So, on a plot level, it is quite a lot about the fallout, but that also means she has to face down two enemies who bring two different perspectives on the issue. The action scenes, her ingenuity, and her drive to keep fighting are well-done. The artwork is pretty good, with smooth movement and beautiful storyboards, but there were times that the color scheme made things legible. Overall, it is an interesting start to a character arc from hero to redeeming fugitive.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Valiant Entertainment LLC, via Edelweiss.
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