3 stars
I’d like to take a moment to just marvel at Maroh’s artwork. That color scheme is just… wow.
Okay, on to the review. As I said the artwork is great. I loved the color choices. They really captured the desert versus water dynamic going on. The art style I loved so much in Blue Is the Warmest Color works so well here.
I also loved the representation in the book. There is great diversity in terms of identity and experiences. Each character felt like an actual person, not just a token to get diversity points. You can tell Sanchez wrote this from the heart and all the queer kids of color reading it are better off for it.
The whole concept of this story is bizarre but it works. Going into it, I wasn’t sure how the DC universe would fit in, but I really enjoyed the peripheral story to the whole superhero thing. A lot of tough topics are tackled including coming out to different people, family member’s journey to acceptance, bullying, and homophobia.
My one critique is that the “secrets are bad” message gets a bit messy by the end. Certainly many of the things in this book shouldn’t have been kept secret and the characters would have been better off if they’d had more open conversations with each other. But when Jake’s sexuality gets lumped in to that message, things are less clear cut. There’s a difference between keeping a secret and taking your own time to figure out your identity and sexuality. The book seems to attach shame to not sharing one’s sexuality with others, which I think is different for everyone, especially for a young person figuring themselves out. That’s a big burden to put on someone and it’s up to the individual when they come out to others. Given the blatant homophobia of others and even some characters’ reservations about gay relationships, Jack’s hesitance is perfectly understandable. Attaching the message that keeping that secret is inherently bad is a bit reductive of the complexity of the situation.
On a positive note, I did love all the examples of supportive adults listening to the young characters. Actually listening to them, trying to understand them, and giving them advise on how to move forward and make their own decisions. Shout out to Maria’s parents especially and Kenny’s dad’s bathtub metaphor really got me.
Overall, a good read with stunning artwork and great representation. Interested to see if this story continues because there is so many places it could go. Would love to see more of Jack and Kenny.