The Flutter Collection

Title: The Flutter Collection
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Date: 2018
Writer: Jennie Wood
Artist: Jeff McComsey
Colorist: Chris Goodwin, Jeff McComsey
Letterer: Jeff McClelland, Jeff McComsey
Editor: Jeff McComsey, Dave Marshall

The story of a girl with shapeshifting powers who becomes a boy to get the girl she's fallen in love with. And things proceed to escalate quickly.

This story is full of twists as it morphs from high school drama to science fiction political thriller, with bits of horror and superhero flavor along with way.

The characters are complex, and the story manages to constantly go in directions that are unexpected, but at the same time are logical repercussions of the (often bad) decisions by the characters.

Writer Jennie Wood tackles a a range of current political issues, especially as the story reaches its climax, and handles them without going astray from the strong character-driven narrative.

Rating: 9/10

Flutter

Here's my first review of books brought home by my wife from last weekend's Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo in Cambridge MA.

Title: Flutter
Date: 2010
Publisher: Jennie Wood
Writer: Jennie Wood
Artist: Jeff McComsey
Letterer: Jeff McComsey

Standard comic format b/w teaser for the upcoming color graphic novel.

Fifteen-year-old Lily has a bit of an invulnerability problem. She's on the run with her father from some unspecified shady dealings, which probably have something to do with the superpowers that she appears to be manifesting.

She's also developed a crush on a girl at the new school she's attending, and she'd not about to let some gender identity concepts keep her from getting what she wants. Especially since her powers seem to include shapeshifting.

This was fun. It had a lot going on, including some gender politics themes and hints of a pretty complex backstory. Lily's frustration at not being able to experience "normal" sensations of pain comes through loud and clear, and her dialogue flows naturally in both of her identities. Good pacing too. Plenty happened in this issue, but it never felt excessively rushed.

Rating: 7.5/10