Review: Little Bird #1 (of 5)

Gwen Dylan Stacy

6 years ago

Image Comics is well-known for pushing out some really interesting, never run of the mill creator owned content which ranges from everything to from titles centering around prohibition werewolves to classrooms filled with deadly assassins that touches on social hierarchy. Little Bird, created by writer Darcy van Poelgeest and artist Ian Betram with beautiful colors by Matt Hollingsworth and letters by Aditya Bidikar, is no different. It’s a niche little title which, admittedly, I had to read a few times to really understand the gravity of.

The best way that I can really describe this story is sort of like Repo! The Genetic Opera meets The Postman with some little glimpses into Native American culture with talk of things that allude to skin-walking. It’s set in an America that is unfamiliar to ours, where religious zealots who all seem to be genetically modified clamor and fuss over control. Our main antagonist seems to have links to Little Bird’s mother, Tanoo, who pushes her daughter out of the village during a merciless attack from marauding army sent by the Bishop himself.

Little Bird clearly doesn’t wish to leave her mother, but everything right now is for a greater purpose; for peace in the North and for her daughter to find and retrieve the man who might save their people. Unfortunately, Little Bird’s first leg of her journey isn’t successful, and she returns to find her home completely and utterly burnt to ash. This spurns her into new action, to try to procure the weapon that her mother had so very much hoped would be able to aid them in their darkest hour.

For a girl as young as Little Bird is, she’s incredibly stalwart and ingenuities. Especially when she has to infiltrate the Northern Guard Penitentiary. Her quick thinking and actions bring her face to face to the very thing that she sought to discover. I will say, too, that I was surprised by how much blood shed was in the next few panels after confrontation with 75. While the action in some panels outside of this specific little incident can seem somewhat paused at times; like watching a video that buffers in places right when you get to the thick of it, but happily this doesn’t effect this particular poignant interaction.

Like some things in life, Little Bird soon finds out that not everything that is promised is as often as it seems. Her weapon is unable to be wielded. Her own questions about herself unanswered as a plot twist that will surprise you blindsides you. Sometimes stories start but end with different voices. Or maybe, we’re just left at a cliffhanger to see how exactly this mention of the resurrection gene comes into play. Either way, if you enjoy something outside the norm I highly suggest this 3.5 out of 5 star first issue as it will keep you on your toes and pique your interest enough to read onward.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Darcy Van Poelgeest (A/CA) Ian Bertram