Writer: Gabby Rivera, Interior and Main Cover Artist: Royal Dunlap, Letterer: Jim Campbell, Variant Cover Artist: Natacha Bustos, Unlocked Retailer Variant Cover Artist: Brittney Williams
Thanks to BOOM! Studios for providing a copy for review!
We start off in the year 2232 in Buttercup Swamp, Gainesville in the Florida Islands. This is where we meet our leading lady, B.B. and a Gator named Buttercup. Apparently, the U.S. is a mess of fractured state called “Fractured States of America”. About 200 years ago Mother Nature hit the world hard, and there was also a plague which causes everything to pretty much fell apart. As B.B. describes it, “Mother Nature was tired of that ‘good girl’ crap too”.
B.B. lives in a type of space pod at the swamp, it’s all hers by the way. She does not share it with her father or anyone else. Anyway, when a person turns fifteen, it’s called “The Freedom Fifteen” and the teen can announce their plans to their family they head off. The teens head out and leave home, going to look where they will settle down or just to see what the world has become. There have been more teens not participating and staying home lately.
Although B.B. loves her dad, she doesn’t like having to change out of her “swamp clothes” into a girly dad approved dress. Even after doing so, her dad nitpicks everything wrong and how she needs to be a “good girl”. If you haven’t been able to tell so far, I’m getting angrier the more “be a good girl” is mentioned. B.B. has a Freedom Fifteen plan with her best friend, Chulita. They want to have a radio station where B.B. is the host and travels across the fractured states meeting other teens on their Freedom Fifteen. The show would be called “B. chula radio”, and Chulita would be the producer back at home (it’s a bit difficult for her to travel because she is in a wheelchair).
B.B. helps out with serving lunch to the others in their small put together community, and she finally gathers the nerve to tell her dad of her plans for her Freedom Fifteen. It does not go to plan, as her dad shuts her down fast. Saying that she needs to stay at home where he can protect her and that he has already signed her up for the youth group. All the while saying she should listen to him and just be a “good girl”. Oh boy, am I properly mad now. To say the least that B.B. is beyond frustrated and thinking to herself, “aren’t I already good enough?” B.B. goes off to help her friend get the sound/frequency tower, all the while her dad follows her. The girls are able to get the tower up and working and start broadcasting across the states, so that everyone can listen in.
On her way back to her pod, B.B. runs into an older man who works with her dad at the A.W.C. He comes up to her after seeing her pull down one of their signs, and says if she puts it back up, it can their secret. This is the creepiest thing ever! She’s fifteen, she does not need to be having any secrets with a grown man! Anyway, back to the story. B.B. is close to home when she see’s her dad going through her things in her pod. She hops on her gator, or the pink gator of the swamp, to cut across the water and get there faster. B.B. and her dad get into a fight as he tries to take her headphones (also what she uses to communicate with her bestie and to host the radio show), and he is telling her she needs to give up this idea of radio nonsense. The comic ends in a big flash of light within the pod. B.B.’s dad does not at all seem supportive, loving or have any parental feelings toward B.B. that I can see. I think this will be an interesting comic to follow along with, I’m hopeful that B.B. will be able to experience her Freedom Fifteen soon!
B.B. FREE #1 is now available.
Have you read the book? What are your thoughts? Want to talk to me about this title? Feel free to chat with me on Twitter or Instagram, or leave a comment below!
