Blackbird #1 Advance Review

Writer: Sam Humphries / Artist: Jen Bartel / Image Comics Right off the back, let’s get one thing straight: Blackbird is easily one of the best looking, jaw dropping, visually engrossing comics of 2018 so far, and will likely hold that title. Jen Bartel’s artwork is vibrant and lively and immediately sets the entire stage for the enthralling urban fantasy story that we’ll see unfold.

Blackbird tells the story of Nina Rodriguez, who at 13 had a precognitive vision of the Verdugo earthquake. In the wake of the disaster, her family and neighborhood were exposed to some sort of supernatural force which left a quiet the impression on Nina. Now, as an adult Nina is trying to navigate her own life and her investigation into the magics of Los Angeles. Humphries evokes just the right amount of unease in Nina’s memory and voice. While we see and hear the story from Nina’s perspective, we get plenty of cues that show how unaligned and at odds she is with the rest of the world. The nature of memory and reality get all muddled, and while the exposition is plentiful, the general mystique and mystery of the world is captivating. There is a delicate balance between Nina the maladjusted adult and Nina the occultist investigator that Humphries manages to find quickly. Nina’s running monologue is charming with just enough vitriol to be familiar to most in the 20’s, and Bartel’s artwork is a master craft of micro expressions, although the reason I fell in love with the book was because of the …