After her long journey of self-discovery, after they’ve taken everything from her, Edan Hale has turned on the Palace and infiltrates its city to strike a devastating blow, but Captain Jariks is waiting for her. As for Peter and Davey, they have learned the truth of Edan’s past and her tie to their younger sister. They must decide if she is still worth befriending or too far down the path of destruction. It’s a bloody, epic conclusion to one of the best series of 2017.

Before I go into the review, I want to say how much fun it has been reading and reviewing this series. Out of all the books currently in the direct market, The Few exemplifies the most of what comics as a medium can be, visually outstanding, narratively gripping, and sharply political. I plan on rereading this series again and again. If I ever do a list of Top Comics of 2017, this will be going somewhere up in the top 5. I thank Sean Lewis, Hayden Sherman, and Image Comics for having the smarts to create and publish this powerful dystopian scifi.

The fun begins with the cover, Edan striking a badass pose as she faces the Palace with a gun in hand. It also works thematically as a representation of Edan going turncoat, abandoning the home and values she once upheld with brutal force. She now plans on tearing it all down. Even more significant are the sentences on the back cover:

“A Hero To One.

“A Terrorist To Another.

“A Necessity To Herself.”

There is that word again, “necessity.” Throughout the series, it has been a dangerous concept justifying horrific actions. However, what this back cover suggests is that it can be more complex than that. It depends on the viewpoint of the judge. Actions can be justified, unjustified, or even both. This happens to be the thematic climax of Edan’s character arc.

As always with each chapter, there is a quote by a famous author/figure in history:

“As you get older it’s harder to have heroes. It’s almost more necessary.”

Ernest Hemingway said that, and I think he means that people develop higher standards for who they consider a hero. They’re needed for better results. Now, does that mean Edan reaches the standard? Probably depends on your own. Personally, I think she becomes both.

The book opens to a two page spread of The Palace at night. It’s a sprawling black and white metropolis with a gray aerial tone. This is an interesting visualization given that Sherman colored the Palace mostly red in the previous issue. I think this change in color has meaning in perspective. From the previous issue, the perspective was that of Captain Jariks, a person who despite knowing her country’s flaws still regards it highly. In this issue, the perspective is that of Edan as indicated by the narrative captions. As someone that has turned against the Palace, the black and white coloring mirrors her cold disdain for it.

This opening spread is but one of the many examples of how much an art beast Hayden Sherman is. His style reminiscent of Frank Miller and punkzines that at first looks simplistic but becomes more complex and detailed the closer you look. The coloring plays a big factor here. Sherman is not representing reality but presenting ideas, adding a striking layer to visually represent the themes of the story. Also, they just look cool, especially during fight scenes. There’s a scene where red moves around with the combatants like an amoeba. In another fight, a 14-panel grid(!!!) switches back and forth between red/black and light/dark gray. Never in a moment does the art look dull in this book.

Going back to the opening spread, the true beauty of Sherman’s art is how it heightens Sean Lewis’ story, particularly dialogue and narration:

“My dear Palace. Bustling streets. Tall buildings. Home. We’ve been doing this dance for a while, friend. And tonight it ends.”

I hate the “We’ve been doing this dance” part of the paragraph. It’s a cliche done too many times in action stories and smudges the graveness of Edan’s statement. She is reminiscing about the Palace yes, but in a way to indicate she no longer sees it as her home. Combined with Sherman’s  dark art, it’s apparent Edan has nothing but cold disdain for the Palace. She is determined to do something to it for revenge. This can be interpreted without seeing Edan’s face. Never before have I seen a collaborative work where the writer and artist takes full of advantage of comics ability to combine text and image for deeper thematic meaning.

On one hand, this vendetta is justifiable given previous events. The reader feels for Edan and is cheering her on. I certainly was ready to watch her kick the Palace’s ass. Then I flipped to the next page and those feelings got complex.

The scene transitions to the Few’s campsite. Edan has made a dirty bomb, which shocked me as an American because of how strongly associated that weapon is with terrorism. Edan narrates that she has plans to cause massive damage on the Palace with it. She does not specify who the targets are. In fact, she does not seem to care about differentiating between military, government, or civilians. Edan’s revelation that the Palace are bad, while an important part of her development, has a dark consequence to it. Edan hasn’t become more empathetic. She simply has changed the target of her brutality. This is not portrayed as a good thing. The Few see that Edan is more violent than ever and keep their distance. She realizes this and decides to go alone. Her isolation represented by a blizzard as she disappears into.

What’s amazing about this turn is that I still feel Edan’s justified. After all, the Palace have to be stopped. At the same time though I feel wary how hate has consumed her. It doesn’t get much better as Edan infiltrates the Palace during a festival and plots her attack with the specific goal of hurting them in a way that makes a statement. Just like the dirty bomb, I can’t help but associate this line of thinking with terrorism. It’s a mode of thinking that doesn’t take into consideration civilian harm. What happens if a person whose only sin is just happening to be born in the Palace gets stuck in the crossfire? The comic has no qualms siding with those that fight for their survival against oppressive regimes, but it becomes murky when attacks have no motivation except hate.

There is a happy ending (well, happy enough), but the comic never lets go of complexity. Even more challenging is the idea that complexity is a necessary part of freedom fighting. Edan does her best to make her target but the destruction she causes could lead to civilian casualties. Minimal perhaps, but still possible.

Bringing up history, I don’t think there is a single armed rebellion where there weren’t innocent casualties. The American Revolution, the Soviet Revolution, etc. In many cases, these revolutions would be overshadowed by later atrocities committed by the new regime. Even in peaceful revolutions, innocents are killed. I think the ending of The Few is a way of forcing the reader to face this issue. Edan has become a freedom fighter instead of an oppressor, she is fighting the good fight with the right people, but has to live with collateral damage. Like the back cover of the issue says, hero to one, terrorist to another. In the end, a necessity to herself and the world because who else is going to stand up to the Palace?

One of the flaws to this otherwise outstanding character arc is how it takes development away from other characters. Peter, Davey, and Captain Jariks are full of potential, but rarely fleshed out. The most disappointing is Captain Jariks, who earlier in the series got upset learning how the Palace had a hand in creating Herrod, a blood-thirsty militia leader. In #6, her complexity disappears and she reverts to being an unquestioning loyalist. Peter and Davey at least get a little more growth when having to make a decision regarding Edan. The dialogue exchanged between them is an intense emotional journey. The Few manages to have strong drama along with its striking visuals.

What stands out to me most about the series is its political relevancy. We have a comic about an oppressive, ultranationalist regime that views a group of outsiders as immoral leeches that only want to destroy them and take their belongings, a wall built to keep non-natives out, brutal police that don’t mind gunning down even children if they profile them as a threat, a roaming gang of sociopathic men that find pleasure in the pain and misery they cause others, a small group of diverse rebels fighting desperately for survival while finding it hard to trust each other and worried that they could become the thing they oppose. This is Trump’s America as it is now, albeit an extreme fictional version. I don’t know if it was Sean Lewis’ intent or not, but there is no way of avoiding the similarities. I see this series in two ways: At it’s best, it is a cautionary tale of what will happen to America if we do not unite and work out our issues. At it’s most frightening, it is a prediction of what is going to happen years from now, and those on the left or at least against ultranationalist, xenophobic regimes will need to be ready for the inevitable war. I think many of us can agree we hope the former happens. But more and more each day, envisioning the latter as becoming a necessity.

Visually, narratively, and politically charged, The Few #6 is a satisfying conclusion. There are some turns that seem too convenient or easily achieved, but it does not dampen the raw, visceral reading experience. It is a series that I can say for certain goes beyond entertainment and enters the realm of true literature. I recommend this to anyone that is yearning for relevant scifi comics or relevant scifi in general.

Story: Sean Lewis Art: Hayden Sherman
Story: 9.5 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS

The Few is a six-issue miniseries about a dystopian future where what was known as the United States has mostly disappeared, the majority of the country under control of a megastate called the Palace. Those that have not fallen underneath Palace control are called the Few. Civil conflict has broken out between the two factions, and loyal Palace soldier Edan Hale has been assigned the task of infiltrating the Few’s headquarters. Along the way, she unexpectedly saves a child and befriends brothers Peter and Davey, two members of the Few. They’re on their way to the headquarters, unknown to them that she is a spy. It’s not going all good for Edan. She is haunted by the ghost of her commanding officer, Ephram Charr. To make matters worse, the merciless militant Herrod and his army of Ragers are right behind them along with a squad of Palace soldiers. If the three factions intercept, there’s no telling what carnage will unfold.

In my review of the first issue, I criticized The Few for lacking story content. I now consider this unfair. The first cover showed protagonist Edan Hale running with a bundle on her shoulders. And what do you know? In the first major scene, she’s being chased. So, story content is shown, just not a whole lot. It’s probably better this way because showing too much content can give away the story entirely.

No, the ideal cover or poster is a clue to what happens in the story. #1’s cover did this superbly, and issue #2 continues this trend. Davey and the baby are shown with a bloodied figure behind them that looks like Solid Snake after a bad day. Turns out, he is a figure from Edan’s past, but more on that later.

The composition of the cover is exceptional, and the minimalist coloring sets the dystopian tone of the series. This issue has a variant cover as part of Image’s 25th anniversary, some of these covers being recreations of older ones. Recall that in my previous review, I said that The Few looked similar to another dystopian American sci-fi…

I KNEW IT! I @#%!ING KNEW IT!

…Anyway.

Hayden Sherman continues to prove he is a master of negative space to create a bleak, death-like atmosphere, arguably even more so as some scenes of snow are blinding in their whiteness. Character designs still have legs that appear longer than upper bodies that have a squarish outline. These designs are not bothersome, in fact there is something rather odd and unique about them. The choices of clothing, a series of jackets and boots and military gear, fits the winter climate. There is a surprising amount of detail put into these and character faces which are highly expressive. However, the sketchiness of the inking can cloud the reader’s vision. It works for vehicles and buildings, and arguably gives character’s a gruffer look, but it can be a bit much.

It’s interesting that even though I call Sherman’s art minimalist, he has so much detail in certain areas. In fact, detail is the artistic highlight of this issue. Two locations are revealed: The Palace and the Few’s hidden headquarters. Both are introduced in two-page spreads and are breathtaking.

Only one section of the Palace is shown, a shopping center, but Sherman crams a maximal amount of detail. Streets are littered with pedestrians, each designed uniquely; walkways and skyscrapers have bolts and screws, metal supports and cracks, trash and stains speck here and there on concrete surfaces. Neon lights dimly glow, steam from manholes perspiring against their bulbs. The Palace in its gritty metropolitan splendor is brought to life. Sherman sticks to a minimalist color palette of brown, green, white, and black, yet somehow makes all the detail more intense.

The Few’s headquarters is equally detailed but with a different aesthetic. It looks more like an underwater city, shadowed metal structures only visible by the intense yellow glow of lights. It’s an eerie appearance, one that hints at conspiracy and danger.

If minimalism brings out the best in Sherman’s natural settings, then maximalism does just as much for the urban.

For issue #2, Sean Lewis expands the mythology of The Few, particularly the three main factions: The Palace, The Few, and Herrod and his Ragers.* Each faction is complex. All are guilty of deplorable actions and fostering a climate that makes these actions permissible.

Edan monologues explaining the backstory of how the Palace came to be. It suggests there was a second civil war over resources, and the Palace managed to take control by obtaining the majority. These actions caused massive suffering, but as Edan’s father told her, “it was necessary.”

This word, “necessary”, is particularly unnerving. The Few is socially relevant given that many of its themes on civil conflict touch upon modern America. “Necessary” is another layer to this social commentary. In just three months, President Trump and his cabinet have passed borderline if not full-on fascist immigration policies, attacked and banned media outlets, and are in the process of butchering the Affordable Care Act, not to mention unraveling protections for transgender school students and other minorities. It is all deemed necessary to make America great again, and stubborn loyalists tell dissenters to obey (a massive hypocrisy given they did everything in their power to attempt at crippling Obama).

“Necessary” is a dangerous word. It gives an excuse for actions, no matter how horrible, even if they have devastating consequences. The Palace’s necessary actions created The Few and Herrod. Both parties actions against the Palace appears justified, but are just as brutal. The Few are so paranoid, they will even search and imprison their own for interrogation; they might even employ terrorist tactics. Herrod is a butcher, killing anyone, even women and children, he deems deserving. He will do anything for revenge on the Palace. Human lives do not matter to him.

It is hard to tell which side is worse, or even who the reader should be cheering for. The danger of necessity and conflict’s moral complexity are deeply explored and interwoven, allowing Sean Lewis to develop them naturally.

These two themes become parts to another essential theme in issue #2: the past coming back to haunt the present. Ephram Charr, Edan’s commanding officer, appears to her several times, even though he is not really there. Is he a ghost? A manifestation of guilt? Whatever the case, Charr drops hints that Edan is also willing to do whatever is necessary no matter what.

This is not the only scene where Edan’s moral is highly questionable. In a flashback, she is chasing down a teenage terrorist spray painting targets for smart bombs. The art for this scene is fantastic, Hayden Sherman using thick lines and frantic color splatter to capture the speed and intensity of the chase. Particularly interesting is the coloring of the terrorist as pastel red. It’s a unique choice for blood and scenes of violence over the traditional dark red, one that fits the art style perfectly. By the end of the chase, Edan makes a decision that while justified is still questionable given the perpetrator’s age.

There is no clear cut good and evil in The Few. Everyone has justification for their actions while still being deplorable most of the time. There are characters that even recognize the complexity of the conflict, such as newly introduced Captain Jariks. She is a loyal soldier of the Palace, but when she learns of Herrod’s origins, why he hates them so much, she can’t help but understand him and feel frustrated her side created the monster in the first place.

While I stated earlier that necessity is a dangerous excuse for heinous actions, what if the world gets to the point where all sides of a conflict are forced to and even justified as such? In a bleak world of survive or die, with no chance of reverting the mistakes of the past, maybe heartlessness is the new normal.

The Few #2 is an excellent follow-up to the series’ promising start. It expands on characters, world-building, and themes while delivering even more top notch art. There is no telling what will happen in the next issue, but it’s no doubt going to be epic. Go out and get this book now.

*I wrote in my first review that the Ragers were fighting for a mysterious man named Herrod. I was completely wrong. The crazy old guy leading them is Herrod. My bad.

Story: Sean Lewis Art: Hayden Sherman
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Last time, Edan, Pete, Davey, and the remnants of the Few squared off with Herrod and the Ragers. Herrod was defeated, but the Few took heavy losses, and Davey’s life is now hanging by a thread. Worse, Edan’s secret has come out, and Pete must decide what to do with her. Meanwhile in the Palace, decorated soldier Colonel Aliss Hale has learned of his daughter’s treason, sending him into a deep depression. Will his love for Edan trump his loyalty to the Palace? As the end approaches, pre-existing tensions will reach a boiling point in this issue, and after the events that transpire, there will be no turning back.

I’ve reviewed this series since issue #1, and I must say that no other issue has awed me with its visually beauty while simultaneously experiencing emotions of despair, joy, and anticipation quite like it. This for me is the best of the series and here is why.

As always with my reviews, it starts with the cover. The photograph is of Tracee, the young sister of Pete and Davey. I won’t reveal why, but she ties Edan’s dark past to her current predicament, the first connection with the Few that now weighs heavy on her conscious. Sherman’s color choices have always been fascinating, but I find symbolic relevance here. Tracee is ethnically black yet colored white. I’m guessing a mark of innocence. The background of her photograph is orange, intensely so. There’s something beautiful about this choice, capturing the energy of a happy disposition.

The gray hand holding Tracee’s photograph is ominous, a deathly gray contrasting the lively orange. Did something bad happen to Tracee? Is looking at the photograph filling the person with a dark feeling? Mind you, I read this comic and know what happens, so maybe I’m making up crap in order to give this cover more meaning than it has. I’ll let you decide on that.

I’ve repeated ad nauseum about Hayden Sherman’s amazing art, his mastery of panel layout, experimental coloring, and moody atmosphere. Issue #3 and #4 were more action-packed, allowing him to draw brutal destruction that would give Mad Max a run for its money. Issue #5 has Sherman return to atmosphere but just so happens to be his best work because of how it illustrates the raw emotion and thematic significance of Sean Lewis’ script.

It starts with the opening pages of the Few entering a small town via RVs. It is surprisingly pristine, appearing to be closed down due to weather and not abandoned. Edan reminisces how even her father respected the Few for keeping their old homes intake, as though it’s there way of saying “We’re here too.” This scene is thematically part of Edan’s arc as she comes to recognize the humanity of the Few instead of little more than faceless terrorists. Lewis wrote this arc in a beautiful, heartfelt way and it has come to its peak. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean Edan’s saved.

The next scene is an intense interrogation as she confesses to Pete. Sherman decompresses it with close ups as the two exchange dialogue back and forth, tension boiling naturally. Edan’s arc might have come to a significant turn, but so has Pete. He now realizes his duty as the leader of the Few, to protect them from all potential threats including Edan. It is an intense and excruciating scene, especially with the photograph of Tracee present. It is an object that reminds Edan of her sullied past, how deep she truly hurt Pete. Death and melancholy are present in the dull, grayish color choices, a palette that has been omnipresent in the series to symbolize the desperation of the world, now more so given the scene’s emotional significance.

The story cuts to a new scene in the Palace. Captain Irks, who has been pursuing Edan, goes to a skyscraper for a meeting with Colonel Aliss Hale. Red is a prominent color in this scene, and something about its particular hue feels domineering. It seems purposeful, a symbolic representation of the authoritarianism and chauvinism running deep in the city’s culture. Colonel Hale is drunkenly sobbing, broken that Edan would betray the Palace. With the red around him and his figure cast mostly in shadow, one gets the notion he is completely brainwashed and willing to do anything for his country. A common theme in the series is the danger of necessity, the willingness to do even the most heinous acts if you feel the conditions are justified. This scene adds a scarier layer, one that shows a person can justify their actions when completely enamored with the party they serve. I think of all the MAGAs and Pepe memes online, how they staunchly defend far right wing politics to the point of psychotic behavior like harassment. Perhaps even more insidiously subtle are people that persist in showcasing their patriotism with an overabundance of American flags, bald eagles, and other paraphenalia. We can say it’s just extravagance, but what if they’re so enamored with the U.S., they’re neurotically driven to overcompensate, and any flaw in that vision causes a massive meltdown?

The next to final scene is a damning, yet brilliantly illustrated point to this rabid jingoism. It involves a swarm of drones using holographic screens to project a speech on-screen. The catalyst of the scene leads to a series of four two-page spreads, one of the panels containing this simple but devastating lettering:

The emotional context this spread has to the unfolding events is devastating. The Palace is not only detrimental to the Few but its citizens as well. They get to live a comfortable life but in exchange for their sanity and value of life. Pete discovers a similar problem in the Few, wondering if the two sides will ever stop killing each other. He knows that an attack is still needed or else the Few will be wiped out. The truly dark power of Necessity is that it ties people to take actions that repeat an endless cycle of violence because the only other option is roll over and die.

I’m probably making The Few seem like a pessimistic series. To a certain extent, it is. All dystopias are like that. You need a pretty dark outlook on the state of the world to envision nightmarish futures. However, there’s always a kernel of hope. It happens earlier in a scene with Edan having a moment with the baby she’s been caring for since issue #1. The baby has called her mama. The area they’re in is claustrophobic and gray, yet feels calming, a moment of peace. Outside her window, the ghost of Ephram appears and tells her “Now you can fight for what you really believe” before disappearing. This scene is one of forgiveness and growth. Edan realizes she believes in the shared humanity of the people she once feared and will protect them with her life. It is a beautiful scene, a glimmer of hope that gives Edan a reason to fight on. Even after the devastating scene of the drones, she takes her anguish and uses it to fuel for her cause.

It has been a long while since a comic, a single issue no less, has been able to make me go through a whirlwind of emotions like this, experiencing both the lowest of despair and the highest of joy. It’s beautifully rendered in word and visual by the amazing creative team. The one flaw to an otherwise fantastic issue is that I think the Few forgive Edan too easily for her crimes. Maybe save that after a major conflict in the final issue. It continues to bug me, but then I think of everything else the issue has achieved and learn to deal with it.

The Few #5 is the most visually stunning, emotional issue of this amazing, relevant scifi series. Both Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman bring their A-games with the kind of passion all comics should have. This is Eisner-worthy material, and I’ll be rooting for the comic when the time comes.

Story: Sean Lewis Art: Hayden Sherman
Story: 9.5 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy