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Review: Morning Glories #47

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mg047Although the initial concept for Morning Glories was one that seemed like it was an easy enough mystery, it was always designed to be one of a run of about 100 issues, and thus at issue #47, the series is approaching the halfway point (or might even be past it) but there are not really a lot more answers now than there ever have been before.  This series has always been a literary hydra, by answering one question another two questions come up in its place.  The series has nonetheless been roughly structured to give it some kind of sense, and this issue is evidently one that will be leading up to a bigger moment, although in itself it is not really shooting off in some strange direction.

The story here is pretty basic, as Ike is determined to help Casey win the election, and he has set up a dance party in order to build interest in her.  As opposed to some issues which focus on primarily one character, this issue focuses on a variety of them, including every member of the original team that is still at the school.  There are some allusions to what is happening elsewhere, but the main focus here is on Casey, the series’ protagonist, who now seems destined to win class president.  This is of course the moment that the readers have been waiting for, as it will potentially mean the freedom of Jade as well, though with this series it can be hard to tell what to expect.

The best part about this series is that it always manages to mix the absurd and the unknown with real human moments.  These are children under great duress as members of the Morning Glories Academy, but they are still ones that sneak out in the middle of the night for a party, and who get nervous when they have to ask the pretty girl to dance.  It is what has made this series a standout even when its plot is inexplicable.  The same is true here, as this issue does not really seem very important to the overall direction of the series, but provides the well-written characters a chance to interact with one another, a relative rarity in this series.  Something big seems to be just around the corner, but in the meantime this issue serves as one of the better intermediate issues thus far in this series.

Story: Nick Spencer Art: Joe Eisma
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.1 Recommendation: Buy

Image provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review

Review: Morning Glories #45

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mg045Morning Glories is one of the most intricate and mysterious comic titles available on the current market.  Over the course of its run thus far it has focused on a group of high school students with unidentified powers, all of whom have been isolated at one equally mysterious private school.  The overall narrative has focused on various philopsphical questions (like divinity) or abstract scientific principles (like time travel), all the while still mixing in aspects of high school life.  Previous issues in this series have focused more on the latter, or at least in the context of this series.  Casey has been running for class president, and while there has been more going on than that, it is still relatively mundane compared to what else has been covered in this series.

For those that have been waiting for something different, and for what makes this series stand out, they need to look no farther than the cover, one of the most evocative so far in the series.  While this issue does focus a bit on the high school politics aspect of the series for a few pages, it also focuses in on one of the series two standout characters, Jade.  Although she is somewhat relegated by Casey’s popularity, Jade is a complex character whose past is a necessity to discover if there is to be some resolution to this series.  It has been previously noted that Jade can somehow revive people from the dead, and that is what most of this issue focuses around, both from a mystical and from a philosophical standpoint.

This issue ends thus ends up being one of the better ones in the recent run of the series.  While most issues are enticing enough, they also form a greater narrative and thus read better together than separately.  This issue has the benefit of focusing on two of the series stronger points, the more esoteric explanations for the academy as well as one the academy’s more interesting characters, Jade.  While this issue still fits within the overall concept and design of the series, its individual focus results in a better overall read than the few issues that have come before.  As always it is hard to recommend one issue of this series over another as they feed into one another, but this issue does seem to be getting back to the meat of the series.

Story: Nick Spencer Art: Joe Eisma
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.1 Recommendation: Buy

Image provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review