Author: Sam Humphries, Jen Bartel (Artist), Triona Farrell (Colourist)
Series: Blackbird #1-6
Audience: +16
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: May 14th 2019
My Rating: 3 Cups
Source: Image Comics
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Nina Rodriguez knows a hidden magical world run by ruthless cabals is hiding in Los Angeles. When a giant magic beast kidnaps her sister, Nina must confront her past (and her demons) to get her sister back and reclaim her life. Don't miss the first collection of the smash-hit neo-noir fantasy series from fan-favorite writer SAM HUMPHRIES (Harley Quinn, Nightwing) and red-hot artist JEN BARTEL (Mighty Thor)!*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
Collects BLACKBIRD #1-6
**Trigger warning: substance abuse
Aside from books, I've collected some comic book ARCs over the last few months and I thought that it's finally time to read them. First up is this really interesting story by Sam Humphries, Jen Bartel, and Triona Farrell. Let's dive right into it.
I need to start by talking about the art. I am not familiar with either the artist or the colourist, so I didn't have wild expectations, but I knew just based on the cover art that it was going to be magnificent. And I was right.
The art is simply fantastic. The colors are really bold, the lines are sharp, and while the panels may seem a bit crowded, it's the first time I didn't mind that. It felt like the art just added some very good details to the story, and I liked that very much. If I were to rate only the art, this would get at least 7 stars from me, that's how in love I am with the art part of this comic book.
The story setting was interesting. Nina Rodriguez is trying to find magic. She's obsessed with magic, ever since the night of a really devastating earthquake, which she kind of had a premonition about. As Nina gets desperate to rescue her sister, she starts finding out secrets about her family, things she didn't see coming. Normally, this would be the kind of story I'd love. The problem for me was that the story felt too rushed in some places, while it was too slow in other places.
While I liked finding out the things that were uncovered of Nina's family, I wish it would have been explored more. Nina was told constantly that she needed to go back to living in a world without magic, but no one actually explained why. Why was it dangerous for her, why were people after her? I felt like very few things were properly explained, which took me out of the story a few times.
There's also a love interest, and I'll be honest: I wasn't into it. The story alternates between having them fight, to having them be friends, and then they're flirting, only to go back to fighting. The only part I truly enjoyed about this relationship is the reveal at the end. We're left with a huge question regarding Clint and that is actually the only thing I enjoyed about their relationship.
I will probably read volume 2 if and when it comes out, because I am curious to see where the story goes, but I would have loved more details and more worldbuilding in this first volume.
