FAITH

A female superhero dealing with
personal PR issues heeds the call of a fellow hero in need of some spectral
assistance.

Faith Herbert isn’t your ordinary
young white woman: She can fly and move objects using her superpowers. However,
she’s in a slump after she—or rather her hero alter ego, Zephyr—was (wrongly!)
accused of murder, so she’s had to lie low as her alter alter ego,
Summer Smith. Then, African-American teen hero Monica Jim (known as Animalia) asks
for Faith’s help in dealing with literal ghosts. The two seek out paranormal
scientist Doctor Mirage. When the ghosts whisk Monica off to the Deadside,
Faith and Doctor Mirage follow her into the spectral realm, which is waaay
creepier than any of them expected, culminating in a place where lost dreams
pose a very real threat. The characters have established history, but, as with
most serial comic books, there’s enough backstory to acquaint new readers with
the stakes. At heart, Faith is a fangirl of many geekdom realms, real and
world-specific, who banters like a pro. She’s also large-bodied, a fact that’s
never critical to the narrative and thankfully never gets downplayed in the
art. The illustrations are on par with any major comics label—detailed and
dynamic with high color variations—and feature particularly expressive faces.

For readers who are die-hard fans of
superheroes, Faith is like the best self-insert fanfic while still being
a totally original character. (Graphic novel. 15-adult)