Review: Rain #1 (of 5)

They say it never rains ’till it pours! Imagine then if that rain is nail splinters of crystal, capable of shredding flesh. This is the premise of a new apocalyptic event led mini-series from Image imprint Syzygy Publishing.

It should have been the best day of Honeysuckle Speck’s young life. Her girlfriend, Yolanda Rusted, is moving in with her. Then came the downpour and ruined everything!

As with every version of this type of story, the key requirement for the story is to care about the characters. This is true in The Walking Dead all the way to the The Quiet Place, Bird Box and beyond. It is almost if the raison d’etre itself doesn’t matter; it’s all about the relationships. From a story by Joe Hill, David M. Booher has adapted just that; an horrific event tearing into the lives of many in East Boulder. Booher takes time to show the various characters that will make up the bones of the aftermath, minus a couple of giraffes it seems. In doing so, little tidbits of information are given which may have a bigger purpose down the line. The monologue works well enough, given that it is told by Honeysuckle it could be assumed that her survival is guaranteed. It will be interesting to see if that is true. Of course this calamity isn’t just affecting Honeysuckle’s corner of the world; it has a greater reach and with that comes another tried and trusted danger.

The art is supplied by Zoe Thorogood in a style that is a touch abstract in places, but works well for the world that has been created and then destroyed, at least in places. I am a bit of a softie so not a big fan of the giraffes. The interactions between Honeysuckle and Yolanda are fun; I also loved the well crafted chat between Honeysuckle and the “vampire”. Figure wise, the body poses can come across a tad paper doll like but I have to admit to enjoying their odd angular quirks. The colors from Chris O’Halloran also have the air of quirkiness to them. Great immediate details on the characters gives way to one color type of backgrounds which gives the book an uneven, yet surreal look. Shawn Lee provides a full font albeit minus text box lines that gives a winsome type of vibe to Honeysuckle’s monologue.

This is a book of two traits; on one hand the end of the world via a cataclysmic, albeit meteorological, event and the subsequent loss of love and life coupled with future dangers isn’t something massively new. On the other hand, the quality of the production is of a massively high standard. This leaves me in something of a quandary when it comes to give it a rating. Maybe Joe Hill fans may expect more depth or nuance; I feel that a score would be more relevant once the series is complete.

Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Story by; Joe Hill
Adapted by; David M. Booher
Art by; Zoe Thorogood
Colors by; Chris O’Halloran
Letters by; Shawn Lee
published by; Syzygy Publishing / Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network