Livewire #1 - Valiant Entertainment
Written by Vita Ayala
Art by Raul Allen & Patricia Martin
Letters by Saida Temofonte
Cover by Adam Pollina
It's hard to believe that is has taken this long for an amazing character like Livewire to get her own solo series. You might remember our interview with Vita Ayala to talk about the book before it came out. We hinted at what we thought of the book, but we didn't give you our full review. Since this week is our Best Of podcast, we're going to do that here!
The book definitely follows the story of what happened in Secret Weapons and also references Harbinger Wars 2, so you may need to be familiar with what happened there to fully appreciate what is going on in this story. SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THOSE PREVIOUS SERIES! Following the events of the books that I mentioned, Livewire is essentially Public Enemy #1. She is now dealing with the fallout from that, and trying to balance her life of staying hidden with her want to continue to help the fight for her fellow psiots. She is also dealing with a lot in her own mind, guilt and perception. That is a major theme of this story, especially when we come across our young psiots from Secret Weapons (which Vita told us would happen in our interview.) There is a bit of a reunion at one point during the story, but I will not spoil what happens during that time. What I will say is that is starts a chain reaction of events that leads Amanda to make a choice that turns this story in a shocking way. Amanda finds herself in a very unfamiliar situation at the end of this story, and also finds something out that makes her life far more difficult. If you like a good cliffhanger, this book certainly has one.
I have mentioned many times on the podcast how great and powerful of a character that Livewire is. We have been able to see a very human side of her recently, and this book really takes that to the next level. Vita highlights the realness of Amanda's situation. To me, this really feels like just as much of Amanda's story as it is Livewire's story. The focus is still on the hero persona, but is also given a much more personal feel than your typical hero story does. As a reader, I feel like there are plenty of moments where you will ask yourself how you would feel in certain situations, which will really draw you in. Speaking of drawing, I mean, it's Raul Allen and Patricia Martin so to say the art is amazing in this book really isn't saying enough. It's not just the major action sequences, but there is a very pivotal and emotional moment near the end of the book that was framed beautifully by that art team. A Livewire series should have happened a long time ago, but this book proves that it was worth the wait.
RATING: PULL / BUY