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A review by theverbalthing
Elsewhere Volume 1 by Jay Faerber
3.0
I received an ARC copy of Elsewhere, Vol. 1 from Image Comics for review on In Full Bleed. You can read an excerpt of that review below or read it in its entirety at this link.
***
It’s not uncommon for creators to put fantastical or science fiction twists on historical events. In Elsewhere, writer Jay Faerber and artist Sumeyye Kesgin put forth a new thesis on what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan: they disappeared into a space-time vortex. Naturally, they landed years apart in a mythical location occupied by non-humans and flying steeds, and though they parachuted out of their plane just seconds apart, Noonan has been on this fantastical island for years while Earhart is only just arriving.
The concept of Elsewhere is really cool. It’s historical fiction meets How to Train Your Dragon with a bit of espionage, bribery, and regicide mixed in. Likewise, the way the series plays with the space-time continuum is fascinating. Earhart is already a historical figure by the time she lands her parachute, and one of the characters she encounters comes from the year 1971.
...
Amelia spends the majority of Elsewhere chasing after a man, which reads like a bizarre interpretation of care ethics. She’s arguably the most capable character in the story; she clearly doesn’t need men to do what she wants to do.
However, Amelia is singularly obsessed with finding Fred Noonan. She continuously puts her own life in danger for him; she also puts herself and other women on the line to rescue another man she barely knows. The characters who are most helpful to Amelia are also women, though they don’t get nearly enough page time or credit.
That makes a lot of Elsewhere — which could be so much more focused on women and their accomplishments — fall flat.
***
It’s not uncommon for creators to put fantastical or science fiction twists on historical events. In Elsewhere, writer Jay Faerber and artist Sumeyye Kesgin put forth a new thesis on what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan: they disappeared into a space-time vortex. Naturally, they landed years apart in a mythical location occupied by non-humans and flying steeds, and though they parachuted out of their plane just seconds apart, Noonan has been on this fantastical island for years while Earhart is only just arriving.
The concept of Elsewhere is really cool. It’s historical fiction meets How to Train Your Dragon with a bit of espionage, bribery, and regicide mixed in. Likewise, the way the series plays with the space-time continuum is fascinating. Earhart is already a historical figure by the time she lands her parachute, and one of the characters she encounters comes from the year 1971.
...
Amelia spends the majority of Elsewhere chasing after a man, which reads like a bizarre interpretation of care ethics. She’s arguably the most capable character in the story; she clearly doesn’t need men to do what she wants to do.
However, Amelia is singularly obsessed with finding Fred Noonan. She continuously puts her own life in danger for him; she also puts herself and other women on the line to rescue another man she barely knows. The characters who are most helpful to Amelia are also women, though they don’t get nearly enough page time or credit.
That makes a lot of Elsewhere — which could be so much more focused on women and their accomplishments — fall flat.