The Family Trade #1 Review

Writers: Justin Jordan, Nikki Ryan / Artist: Morgan Beem / Image Comics Beginning as a quirky assassin’s tale, The Family Trade reveals itself as a thinly-veiled allegory to the rule of Donald Trump. It has all the weapons that, while interwoven with enough wit to balance the parallels of real life with character-driven endearment, flicks speedy jabs at a steady pace rather than beat you over the head. There is a democratically-elected leader who is elected in less-than-democratic fashion; there are descriptions of his rise to prominence, how “great crowds of people support him… They say they are not listened to.” It continues: “They are not wrong. They are foolish for thinking a man like [him] could possibly be better, but they are not wrong.” Eventually we read mention of the “outlanders” and “freeloaders,” and then a “Make America Great Again” analog and, okay, The Family Trade does beat its allegory in. Put the villain aside though and you have the more charming element of the comic in the form of a would-be assassin, Jessa, a teacher by day who moonlights in an underground League of Shadows-esque group that maintains order and societal balance.

We are guided by her inner dialogue through most of the issue, more than half the words spoken to herself than by or to an external person. It sets the tone of what you would imagine an assassin’s work to be: quiet, with a lot of self-reflection. We are privy to her thoughts and thus to her inner struggles as she narrates for us,…