A decade ago, when I was looking for all-ages DC Comic books for my twins, the choices were limited to trade collections of books I remembered from my own childhood. If I were looking now, I’d have a plethora of choices, from the DC Super Hero Girls series to the excellent young reader and young adult original graphic novels DC has published in the last couple of years.
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero by writer E. Lockhart, illustrator Manuel Preitano, colorist Gabby Metzler, and letterer Troy Peteri, is yet another fine entry in the young adult DC slate. It not only adds a relatable and engaging new female hero to DC’s cast but also introduces another corner of Gotham, Down River, a neighborhood with roots in the Jewish community.
Willow Zimmerman is a protector, a Jewish hero who wants to save Down River, which is slowly being destroyed by forces outside her control. We meet her as someone heavily involved in protests to protect her neighborhood, someone who believes real change is possible, and someone who will rush to the aid of others, despite the danger to herself. She’s also the caretaker for her seriously ill mother, though she feels helpless to earn the amount of money needed to pay for effective treatment. She has this in common with the “villain” of AntiHero, another recent DC original graphic novel. And, similarly, her search for money leads her into making the wrong choices, with Edward Nygma aka the Riddler, cheering her on.
This, for anyone who knows anything about Gotham, will not end well.
Willow knows Nygma as an ex-boyfriend of her mother’s, a man who always treated her well, though her mother refuses to have anything to do with him anymore. The promise of money and fascinating work is just the wedge Nygma needs to pull Willow into his world. It’s easy to see why Willow does as Nygma asks. Sure, he’s breaking the law but adhering to the law certainly isn’t doing her or her mother any good. But working for Nygma, arranging his puzzle parties, and using her cleverness to earn money that literally saves her mother feels good to Willow.
It’s a story that takes its’ time, allowing us to get to know Willow, her neighborhood, the stray dog that she feeds, and her dreams for the future. It’s not until two-thirds of the way through the book that the superhero part of the story comes into being, as Willow is injured by Killer Croc under complicated circumstances that end in her gaining some abilities from her dog, and her dog gaining the ability to communicate with Willow.
The art reinforces the story in many ways. The night Willow first solves the puzzle sent by her mother’s old boyfriend is set in a dark, empty library, signaling this is a dangerous path. Nygma’s surroundings are mostly portrayed in white, a blank background that seems bright and fun until it’s clear to Willow that all it means is that Nygma is a man without any strong morals. Willow, too, changes her clothes over the course of the book, shifting from a slouchy teenager to more of a fashion plate. Her descent is signified by her adoption of blacks and greens, especially the jacket given to Willow by her “friend,” who is secretly Poison Ivy.
At the end, Willow’s boyfriend wears a Green Lantern shirt, perhaps signifying Willow’s shift from the wrong to the right side of the green.
There are also clever touches in the panel construction, especially a page depicting the puppies at the shelter where Willow works. Some of the puppies are out in space, some inside, all interposed with Willow’s efforts to take care of them.
The main complaint that I have is that this story feels like it stops right as it’s starting. It takes three-quarters of the book before Willow appears in costume in her new identity and she’s only started her quest to save Down River.
But this is a book I’d have bought for my kids back in the day and one I’d recommend highly to those who have kids of a similar age now. It is classified as YA, likely for the violence and adult themes, but I feel tweens would also be fine reading this one.
