“Come, World”
creators: Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky
release date: October 2013
publisher: Image Comics
This second issue continues to be in flashback, focusing heavily on Jon’s “origin story,” as it were–while we still get snippets of both Suzie and Jon’s first sleepover, as well as the current scene in the bank. Jon takes us through his realization of his ability to freeze time post-climax while we see the mysterious figures who are holding up the two at the bank.
Jon’s backstory definitely doesn’t have the same kind of unique appeal as Suzie’s did, if only because it is so rare to see a woman exploring her sexuality in such a way, both in comics and otherwise…but it definitely had the same tongue-in-cheek appeal. Like Suzie, growing up in an earlier time, was forced to bathroom drawings and embarrassing gynecology appointments, John’s routes are more–well, what do you think?–along the lines of porn, first some he comes across hiding in the bushes, and then the local store. Unlike Suzie, however, Jon immediately uses his “powers” for mischief. It seems rather stereotypical for a guy, and we don’t really see into Jon’s personality as much as Suzie’s–for example, he mentions his father in passing, but doesn’t go into detail whereas we see very personally how Suzie’s father’s death deeply impacted her childhood. But throughout his recollections, Suzie continues to drop in and contribute her thoughts; this both reinforces her as the main character and perhaps also shows her growing emotional attachment to him. She keeps calling him “this guy,” so perhaps the “just sex” will quickly become something more–for either her or both parties.
The mysterious antagonists outside the bank are completely a mystery, and looking forward to the plot moving forward (hopefully!) in the next issue, now that we know more about the title characters. Unlike the other characters, their speech is white text on black, and they seem unaffected by time slowing… perhaps they have similar sex powers but we’ll see how overdone the concept becomes, a fear I noted in my previous review.
Just like the first issue, Zdarsky’s art is quite beautiful–the game-board-style path John takes to zoom out of the porn shop was particularly amusing. Again, the sex is pretty prominent, but never overly gratuitous or cheesecake-y; the titles of the porn mags and videos were quite hysterical. Both he and the colorist do a masterful job of keeping the colors of Jon and Suzie’s post-climax bright and dreamy, clearly separating it from “real life.” I have to say though there is something about the roundness of Jon’s nose that keeps throwing me off, though, and sometimes Suzie looks a bit like Veronica from Archie Comics.
Looking forward to seeing how the storyline begins to progress in issue 3!
Reading Art 