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Review: Furious #1

By | January 31st, 2014
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

“Furious” is a superhero story with a twist! Only I’m pretty sure that tagline doesn’t work on anybody any more. Er, “Furious” is a complicated superhero-centred story that has some believable angst and pain to it. That sounds less snappy, but there really is a messy, celebrity-trainwreck appeal to this story – and it works all the better because our heroine actually is trying to do good.

Written by Bryan J. L. Glass
Illustrated by Victor Santos

Staring into a fractured mirror of her life, the world’s first superhero, Furious, seeks to atone for her past sins by doling out rage-fueled justice! But the spotlight of our celebrity-obsessed media threatens to undo her noblest efforts and expose her true identity before she can achieve redemption.

For Cadence Lark, being a superhero has always been about redemption for past deeds – that and the fame, naturally. But when she sets out to become the The Beacon – heroine and maintainer of justice – the tabloids brand her Furious, a villainess and disturber of the peace. And as Cadence’s disjointed narration reveals, she’s not handling any of this all that well.

Over the course of the issue, Cadence lives out her everyday life – which, for her, is making her rounds through shady convenience stores, stopping any crimes in progress, and then trying to pass for normal during the daytime. It’s all presented out of order, with Cadence’s narration smoothing it over into something like a stream of consciousness. And while we don’t exactly get to trusting her, we definitely feel her rage and exasperation as the media sets about twisting every good deed she does.

We understand that Cadence Lark is an unhinged character – and I don’t mean Harley Quinn unhinged, but something more commonplace, and all the more arresting for it. Switch a few details and spin it the right way, and her story might be Lindsay Lohan’s. But the value of this story is the way it lets us go past the surface of things, and feel both the heroic intentions and crippling unhappiness of a person who’s trying to do the right thing. It’s not often you see a heroine get really, tangibly angry; that we experience the things that are getting Cadence angry alongside her gives the story a sympathetic emotional core.

All the while, Victor Santos’ cartooning style is kinetic and confident, setting down action sequences and quieter scenes with inventive, dynamic layouts. Just like Cadence’s narration, there’s an off-kilter feeling to it all, a spontaneity that looks effortless. The best moments are when the panels break free of the grid and scatter, Polaroid-like, across the page, emphasizing both the movement of the scene and the chaotic nature of Cadence’s thoughts.

Furious herself is a piece of work, a bundle of scowls and swagger that gets shut down with a flat affect when she goes back to being Cadence. Each mode is equally compelling; whether she’s stopping a speeding car, or dropping an egg carton at the store, her emotionality and yes, fury, finds a way to manifest itself. Watching her try to convince the patrons of a convenience store that she’s The Beacon, not Furious, is especially interesting; her exaggerated mannerisms and the incongruity of her outfit with her surroundings project an aura of crazy despite her best intentions. Meanwhile, the varied reactions of her onlookers (the pubescent dork, the surly owner, the suspicious mother) are recognizable and spot-on.

It’s all very colourful, which you might not expect in a story as dark as this one; but somehow the brightness of it all doesn’t fight with the darker content. Rather, we get the feeling of a showy tabloid cover, something that entices you with the promise of dishing everybody’s dirt.

By the end of the issue, the notion left hanging is what, exactly, Cadence is trying to atone for. And while it’s not the most unconventional of cliffhangers, the emotional dimension of this book is well-developed enough that we understand the answer isn’t a simple matter. The “how” of this story is looking to be more important than the “what”; and with a first issue this intense and intricate, this is one “how” you won’t want to miss.

Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy


Michelle White

Michelle White is a writer, zinester, and aspiring Montrealer.

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