Comic Book Reviews (Week November 16, 2022): SIKTC Issue 26, Kroma Issue 1 & More!

Welcome to my comic book reviews for this week (November 16, 2022). I will be covering Something is Killing the Children issue 26, Crashing issue 3, Kroma issue 1, and more.

I ended up reading just a handful of comic books this week. And while that’s disappointing, at least the books I did read were enjoyable. So, let’s begin by talking about Something is Killing the Children issue 26 from writer James Tynion IV. If I remember correctly, the previous issue came out four months ago. Here’s hoping issue 27 doesn’t take that long to be released.

Issue 26 of SIKTC allowed Erica to rest, but only for a bit, as the story focused on fleshing out the dynamics between Riqui, her brother, and their mother. With how much panel time Riqui’s brother got, I’m already worried about his fate. Tynion’s not above making readers spend time with characters just to make their inevitable death scene feel impactful.

Things are closing in on Erica. She’s injured. Her biggest support recently got killed and the psychopathic assassin Charlotte Cutter has arrived at a location very close to her. There’s also the very dangerous supernatural Duplicitype still roaming around.

While I highly doubt that Erica’s going to die, I’m looking forward to seeing how things will continue to get worse for our hero before she’s able to grasp victory, or something close to it, at the end of this arc.

Does it have obvious queer characters? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Crashing Issue 3

From writer Matthew Klein and artist Morgan Beem, Crashing issue 3 gave readers a bunch of revelations. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t a fan of Rose’s marriage with Don from the start. It was just too messy, especially with Don, a politician, being someone who wanted to restrict the rights afforded to people with superpowers while Rose, a doctor, is all about helping people, superpowers or not.

I get that families have political differences, but this was just too much, in my opinion. For example, there’s a difference between marrying a casual homophobe and a homophobe who has made their political agenda to strip away queer rights. 

Political differences aside, the character work Klein did when sharing how Rose and Don first met and the issues they had to deal with as Rose tried to fight her addiction was handled well. Again, those two, regardless of whether or not they loved each other, were better off not being a romantic couple.

Due to being pulled between working for a villain and a hero, Rose really needs to get her act together. And here’s to hoping she gets a wake-up call soon!

Does it have obvious queer representation? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

Kroma Issue 1

From creator, writer, and artist Lorenzo del Felici, I have to say that Kroma issue 1 served as one of the strongest debut chapters I have read in a while. The premise of what’s left of humanity being forced to live in a city that’s black and white while the rest of the world remained filled with color and danger around them is surely an interesting one.

There’s definitely more to the story that humanity has been telling their young about how they need to stay away from color or risk death and insanity. Not only themselves, but people also covered their food with white chalk to keep colors and the danger they brought at bay. Apparently, they also killed babies that didn’t have black hair. Points to Felici for the worldbuilding.

Readers got to learn more about this particular fictional world through a young boy named Zet. He began to question what he’s been taught after discovering a young girl (or a being that looked like one) during a ritual. The narrative talked about indoctrination and cult-like thinking. Seeing the girl tell Zet that she deserved to be hurt because of what she thought she was… yes, good stuff!

The ending of the first issue really took me by surprise and the story left me with a bunch of questions. I don’t know what the endgame is supposed to be, but for now, I’m looking forward to reading the second chapter.

Does it have obvious queer characters? No.

Recommendation: PICK IT UP!

Wynd: The Throne in the Sky Issue 4

From James Tynion IV, the fourth issue of Wynd: The Throne in the Sky slowed down the pace and provided readers with a new piece of lore, one that explained the role that giants played in shaping the world and how Faeries, Vampyrs, and humans were linked.

While I’m okay with the worldbuilding going on in Wynd, I also want the plot to move forward. This chapter did make me feel that Tynion was padding out the story to hit a particular number of issues. Again, I’m not against learning more about the mythology of the world he’s created. Still, I couldn’t help but feel that the pacing was off.

The ending does imply we will get to experience some action in the next chapter. So, fingers crossed for that. Also, the giant named Strawberry did tell Wynd that the young boy wasn’t a Winged One. So, I’m looking forward to learning what that’s about.

As for the character moments, we got to see Oakley’s father, Roderick, talk about his guilt over leaving his wife and daughter because he continued to follow his King’s orders. I liked seeing how he felt guilt over how he could have had Wynd as an adopted son if he hadn’t allowed following orders to keep him away from his family. Roderick’s done a lot of bad stuff as a soldier. And seeing him try to make up for it by doing what was possible to save Oakley and her friends, I hope that the two are able to mend their relationship down the line.

Wynd’s relationship with Thorn was currently at the “cute” stage, with the two now sleeping next to each other, with their hands touching. While I’m all for the queer cute stuff, I do feel those two need to have actual conversations. And with how Yorik’s words hurt Thorn in the previous issue, I’m surprised that particular argument wasn’t addressed in the current chapter.

Does it have obvious queer characters? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

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Which comic books did you read this week? What did you think of Kroma issue 1?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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