Well here’s an interesting new comic that I bought today, I’d never heard of it before but it was in the “this week’s featured new releases” section on Amazon/Comixology, and the cover and synopsis caught my eye, so I bought it. And I’m glad that I did!

The high-concept pitch I’d use to describe this comic might be “Boyz N The Hood meets War Of The Worlds”. This is set in Compton, California, where our lead character is a Black boy named Travon who lives with his foster mother, a kindly woman named Miss Wilmae, and a little girl named Mari (it’s unclear if Mari is Miss Wilmae’s daughter or is another foster child). Right off the bat, we can see that Travon is a happy and good-natured kid. In high school, he has a girlfriend named Daysha, and his best friend is a White boy named Todd. His only trouble in life is a boy named Zion, a neighborhood bully who’s constantly chasing and picking fights with him for what we learn are personal reasons. One day Travon wakes up to a large sparkly cloud hanging over the sky. Initially, this is treated like a strange but natural phenomenon, Travon is curious but mostly focused on just getting through his day like normal. But then that afternoon metallic machines emerge from the cloud and start blasting everyone in sight with lasers.

The book then cuts to three weeks later, the city is in ruins, Travon, Daysha, and Todd have been holed up in the school. It’s unclear how many other survivors there are, but since they’re running out of food and water, Travon ventures out by himself to look for supplies or help. This leads to an unexpected encounter and a surprising cliffhanger.

It’s a pretty solid first issue. The writing is by screenwriter Rodney Barnes and his narration of the story is almost poetic. I immediately found myself becoming emotionally invested in Travon and what happens to him. Alex Lins is the artist. I wasn’t familiar with his work before this, but he gets the chance to show off his skills in this issue,  proving to be just as adept at drawing quiet scenes of Travon at home and school and the chaotic madness of a city being ripped apart by an alien invasion. My only criticism would be that according to the synopsis Travon is supposed to be a teenager but if I were guessing by the art, he and his friends look younger, closer to Junior High kids. Still, I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next issue.

Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

AVAILABLE AT AMAZON