Story: Mariah McCourt Interior Art: Soo Lee Colorist: Pippa Bowland Letterer: Rob Steen Cover Art: Jill Thompson
Thanks to AHOY Comics for the review copy!
I was struggling with the way to describe this new series from AHOY Comics … until I read the notes at the end, which accurately state it is “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Golden Girls.” What sets this series apart in a world of young superheroes (even Captain America, who is very old, looks young thanks to the super-soldier serum), the protagonists of this book are two old women. One fills the bookish-Yoda-mentor role, which isn’t really impacted by her age. The other is in the ‘chosen one’ position that usually is reserved for young women, a fact not lost on the characters.
Beyond introducing the two (possibly three) main characters and the big bad, there isn’t much of a plot. The scenes with the bad guy and his lackey are particularly funny. The art style is a bit fuzzy and the color palette is muted, but it is easy to tell the characters apart. There are a few curse words and some blood, so take that into account when deciding whether to share this book with children. Thanks to to the art direction, the blood isn’t really that bad.
Issue 1 does a good job as an introduction, but I’m hoping future issues provide a little more context about what is going on. Also, now that we’ve established the ‘Golden Girls’ dynamic, I’d like to see more about how that impacts their quest to save the world. Thus far, chosen one Thorn doesn’t seem to hampered by her age. While that sends a nice message about being able to be awesome as we age, in order to make the characters interesting, the series is going to have to explore what it means to do these things when you are older. I’ve seen enough to want to see if Issue 2 follows up on the promise of the book’s premise.
ASH & THORN #1 is now available.
Check back soon for my thoughts on the 2nd issue.
Have you read the issue? What are your thoughts? Want to talk to me about this title? Feel free to chat with me on Twitter or leave a comment below!
