Review: Abbott 1973 #1 (of 5)

The year is 1973. What better year to take on the social injustices of sexism, sexuality and race? Oh, there is is also the matter of demons and the destruction of Detroit and the end of the world! To say that there is a lot going on in this new mini series from Boom! Studios continuing Elena Abbot’s story from 2018, is an understatement!

Elena Abbott has had a bit of funny time of late. The investigative reporter lost her husband, to dark occult forces and finding out she was a Lightbringer the only force capable of stopping the Umbra which she did with the help of both her ex-husband and ex-girlfriend. Now, with the Umbra in decline, Elena is looking to get her life back on track, though there are other forces in play that can have a negative impact, forces that don’t care that the Umbra is slowly growing.

Before Saladin Ahmed was wowing people with Something is Killing the Children, he wrote the first Abbot series. Returning to his hometown of Detroit, Ahmed writes a character that carries the scars of her victories rather than the glory of them. In Elena with have a black woman, who has dated both men and women, who also works in an ultra competitive workplace, with a new boss who has very specific views on how women should act, dress and speak. It’s kind of like an extreme version of the Peggy Carter TV show! Ahmed spends a lot of time bringing readers up to speed, though does so in a way that moves the story forward. The conversational pieces between Elena and her girlfriend resonate with the times where people couldn’t be as open about who they loved or even slept with. Woven through Elana’s story are two other subplots vying for attention; the mayoral election with the possibility of Detroit’s first black mayor and of course the Umbra, which is out for revenge on the Lightbringer.

Sami Kivelá first came to my attention with the excellent Chum book from Comixtribe, with a down and dirty style that fit perfectly with the Pulp Fiction style of that book. Here, Kivelá manages to capture the feel of Blaxploitation movie without the negative connotations. Under Kivelá’s pencils, the book exudes the 70’s feel. Strong facial elements are matched with fantastically nuanced and observed body language and frameworks. There is a touch of Vertigo to Kivelá’s work and whilst that is high praise the greater compliment is that Kivelá handles the very separate parts of the story extremely well, with no compromise in quality or importance. The 70’s vibe is fully realized with the colors provided by Mattia Iacono who gets to mix up the occult with a painted style and the more traditional scheme for the real world. Letters are provided by Jim Campbell, who makes sure that the verbiage doesn’t detract from the art and manages to instill the right level of condescension in the editor and the a sense of nervousness in Elena and her new old love. Finally there are a raft of covers available; Raúl Allén and Jenny Frison, the latter a huge fan favorite, both provide one, though if I am honest, the main cover by Taj Tenfold would be my choice.

This book features a lot of -isms , which under less skillful hands could have come across as preachy. Ahmed treats the subjects as a piece of the life of Elena and therefore treats the reader with intelligence, letting the reader make up their own mind about the the more personal aspects of the story. Ahmed takes this skill one step further with the political edge, ensuring that there is a genuine investigation to go hand in hand with the spooky goings on, and with Kivelá on pencils, the book has a dark, gritty tarnished feel to it that makes no excuses for the 70’s.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Written by; Saladin Ahmed
Art by; Sami Kivelá
Colors by; Mattia Iacona
Letters by; Jim Campbell
Covers by; Taj Tenfold, Raúl Allén and Jenny Frison
Published by; BOOM! Studios

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