HOMECOMING # 3
Written by David Wohl
Art by Emilio Lasio & Brett Smith
Aspen Comics
FLIPPING THROUGH:
So, this is me picking up this book on the third issue. But for the most part, we find that a group of teens were abducted by aliens and now have powers. One guy, Paul, decides to be a typical teen and starts abusing his powers cause of a bully on the football team that he's trying out for. Meanwhile, the majority of the issue deals with a character named Celeste. Celeste just gets a visit from her mother, Carla, after a decade being missing. Celeste is happy to see her mother but things heat up as Celeste fights the aliens known as The Striker.
Readers get to see Celeste use her powers to protect her mom till ... Nah, not going to spoil it.
ART:
The art was very contemporary comic book art for today and really seemed to fit. No flashy costumes for the main characters. Just real clothes. The alien design looked very good. You could tell that the Striker are a warrior race. There are interesting homages to Predator, a minotaur and some kind of gladiator in their design. Everyone looked proportionate. Everyone looked unique enough. Lasio's art is very smooth. Everyone l had a smoothness to their look except for the Striker; which is really good. The strong inks really help bring out Lasio's style. And while there was some great panel work as well, I was not wowed. Lasio's art is strong and will definitely get better as it goes along but there seemed to be something ... missing. Some panels seemed more exciting than others. Brett Smith's colors were really strong and helped bring out the best in Lasio's art. The colors were warm to hot, which worked for the book. Good job by Smith and Lasio.
WRITING:
Wohl has something really good here. This was the first time I picked up this series and it was easy to follow. I didn't feel lost at all. The plot seemed simple but effective. What happens when you are a teen with powers after being abducted by aliens. It seems like Wohl took this premise and took a little inspiration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer with it. Celeste is an interesting main character. She seems very well adjusted to her powers and situation. The pacing for the issue was excellent with nothing seeming like filler and nothing feeling unimportant. Celeste works well as a strong lead. And the small twist at the end of the book was a great way to end the book, waiting for next month's conclusion.
Wohl's only real mistep is a minor gripe. While I do believe there are teens that still have fascinations with the 80s ... I doubt many of them would be making multiple 80s references. Even 2 of them. I could be wrong and that is a minor gripe. Otherwise, we got some great character work with Celeste, Paul, Hunter & Carla. And the cliffhanger is a nailbiter that will make you want next issue.
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
Homecoming # 3 is different a solid book. It captures the spirit of teens very well. There are definitely some influences that you can see in this, like I said before with Buffy but it works for the book. The art is good and gets better as it goes along but seems to be missing a little bit more 'umph.' Yet, Lasio and Smith do a good job of bring Wohl's great script to life.
RATING:
I give Homecoming # 3 from Aspen Comics a 8.0 out of 10. I definitely want to see how this ends and what else will this series set up during its finale.
