Raising children is tough, especially in this day and age. When you’re not busy working and trying to get paid enough to support the little tykes you’re fighting what feels like a losing battle against societal demands, pressures, and horrible influences determined to take all the bright and happy potential said children have and grind it into dust.
Is that depressing? Absolutely. But if “Monarch” #1 has anything to say about it, it’s that no matter how bad you think raising a kid might be, it’s even worse when aliens show up.
Written by Rodney BarnesCover by: Alex Lins
Illustrated by Alex Lins
Colored by Luis NCT
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
A new tale of terror and high-stakes science fiction hits close to home!Growing up in the city of Compton is tough enough as it is, but as Travon has learned all too well, growing up as an orphan in the city of Compton with gang members hunting you down every day is even tougher. But all of that is about to change, because today is the day that aliens make first contact with Earth-and it only spells doom for life as we know it!
Death, devastation, and mayhem-can a single teenage boy rise to the challenge and protect his surrogate family and friends…or will he die trying?
From RODNEY BARNES, the star comics writer behind the Eisner-nominated series KILLADELPHIA and the writer/executive producer of HBO’s Winning Time, and up-and-coming Marvel artist ALEX LINS comes a new tale of love, triumph, disaster, and defeat!
“Monarch” #1 follows Travon, a foster kid growing up in Compton Los Angeles. Travon is a good kid who comes from the foster care system and was lucky enough to be adopted by a good family, seems to be doing well in school, and even has a girlfriend. Unfortunately, it seems that Travon has to grow up pretty fast for two reasons. First, there is an incredibly aggressive and violent bully named Zion who is mad at the world and has chosen to take most of his anger out on Travon. Second, aliens have shown up and decided to invade Compton, leaving Travon, Zion, and all of their friends and family in the middle of an intergalactic war zone.
What do these aliens want? Why are they here? Nobody knows.
“Monarch” #1 is written by Rodney Barnes, who comic book fans may know from his previous series Killadephia. Barnes certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention by opening up on a scene where the mysterious aliens are obliterating everything and everyone in their path. With that being said, the book’s greatest strength is that the author understands how the alien invasion is secondary to the characters and their personal drama, which is what keeps the reader’s attention after the dust and bodies have settled. For a movie about an alien invasion, Barnes understands how key the human element is in this drama, and he creates a script that develops the main character very well. Travon is a good kid growing up in a tough situation, and while he has to confront a lot of violence and anger in the form of his bully Zion, we also see that there is a lot of love and things worth fighting for in his life. Once you get past the violence and very real blood, it’s a very sweet story about a kid trying to live his best life, and that’s when the book is at its absolute best.
While the human drama is presented really well and is the best part of “Monarch” #1, once you get past the story’s core there are some problems. For starters, while the aliens are present from the very beginning of the comic, they’re treated as a violent and mysterioius side plot to the much better human drama. Speaking of the human drama, Barnes tries to split the narrative between three different characters, and while it’s easy to tell who is easy to tell where the frame of reference is, it feels like the story would have been better served if it had just stayed with Travon’s point of reference. On top of that, the narration in the comic feels a bit too mature and well spoken for a book about teenagers growing up. All of this comes together to reveal the book’s biggest problem: it doesn’t feel like the book really knows who it’s for. The subject matter of the book feels like it’s aimed at teenage and/or young adult readers while the style of narration and the gore and violence of the book feels like it’s aimed at older readers.
Continued belowSpeaking of gore and violence, the artwork is provided by Alex Lins and it reinforces the narrative strengths and weaknesses of the comic. Lins has a loose and minimalist style that is very good at drawing characters, which makes the emotional ups and downs of Travon’s life all the more real and believable. Lins does a great job of showing the joy and love that fills Travon’s life, while making the scary moments with Zion genuinely terrifying. However, while the human moments are great, it seems that the loose style of the artwork can make the big action setpieces a bit difficult to follow, and while the alien invasion is incredibly bloody and violent, the artwork doesn’t give it a very visceral punch.
“Monarch” #1 is two stories in one first issue. The first and better story is the tale of a kid trying to grow up in a rough neighborhood and doing what he can to make the best of a crappy situation, no matter how violent and angry it might get. The second is an alien invasion story that feels tacked on and a bit unnecessary, but it’s there and gives the creative team and readers the chance to see a good kid rise to the occasion and become a man in the face of incredible violence and destruction.
Final Verdict: 7.5- It’s a sweet and solid coming of age story, but the mature dialogue and violence might make the book feel a bit out of reach for the younger readers who would really enjoy it.
