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A review by ruthsic
Livewire Volume 1: Fugitive by Patricia Martín, Vita Ayala, Raul Allen
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.