Primer: Clashing Colors #1 – Jennifer Muro/Thomas Krajewski, Writers; Gretel Lusky, Artist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The second of the all-ages DC OGNs to switch to single issues this month, this is a sequel to Primer, a fun tale of a preteen orphan with a criminal father who got adopted – and soon found out her adoptive mom was a scientist who had invented top-secret paint that can temporarily grant superpowers. After some illicit experimentation with the help of her best friend Luke, Ashley became the superhero Primer, took on a ruthless soldier named Strack, and found both a home and her destiny. It was a really fun book, leveled up by incredibly colorful and kinetic art by Gretel Lusky – and from this first issue, the sequel looks to improve on it in almost every single way.
Ashley is now 13 and living a double life as a superhero – although just about everyone in her life knows her secret identity. She’s bonded with her new father Kitch, but things are still a little tenser with her adoptive mother Yuka, mostly due to Ashley’s love for her late mother and her hesitation to accept another mother figure in her life. But at least it’s healthier than her bond with her birth father – a cruel criminal who has also figured out her identity and has no hesitation about blackmailing her with it. And amid all that, Ashley has decided she has a new goal in life – to join the Teen Titans. Interestingly, these are very clearly the Titans from the original cartoon series, putting this firmly in its own continuity – and pitting everyone involved against Slade.
The “audition” with the Titans goes poorly, with Ashley becoming increasingly desperate to win them over – causing doom for Kitch’s car and strains in Ashley’s relationship with Luke. But she soon finds herself bonding with a new character, Violette, who at first comes off like a bully but quickly turns out to have some hidden layers – as well as a backstory that makes total sense when you consider some of the other elements in this book. It’s not hard to figure out what the twist is going to be, but I expect it to be a great story to get there. The stakes are higher in this volume, with Deathstroke and a new masked Ravager posing a threat to the Titans and Ashley finding herself in the middle of a major superhero battle. It’s a great level up for one of the best original stories DC has put out in a while.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
