Fishflies #1 Review
Fishflies #1 Review
Writer/Artist: Jeff Lemire
Published by: Image Comics
Jeff Lemire has always had a knack for creating wonderful stories interwoven with the supernatural that fans have flocked to over the years. Although he is best known for his creation of Sweet Tooth which now has a live-action adaptation on Netflix working towards its final season. He now manifests another story based on the longtime memories of the grotesque dealings with fishfly infestations in Essex County during his earlier life beginning with Fishflies #1.
The description for Fishflies #1 reads:
When a brutal and violent crime puts the life of an innocent teenage boy in the balance, it sets off a chain of events in bucolic Bell River, Ontario that will permanently change several residents’ lives. And as the manhunt heats up, a lonely girl named Franny Fox will form an unlikely friendship with a fugitive that leads them on an odyssey of discovery and redemption.
The absolute takeaway for me here was Lemire’s absolutely grotesque look in this comic. It is not a negative remark to this issue at all as it feeds into the story being told by Lemire and really manifests the experience these characters are dealing with as every buzz and crunch of the fishflies on these pages is felt to our core as we read from one page to the next. It all begins with a group of children. Friends scrounging up cash for some ice cream at the local mini-mart, we’ve all been there.
As they bust each other’s chops on the way to the mini-mart, we finally reach the destination of the mass of fish flies that have flocked to this mini-mart and now created a barrier of entomophobia for these characters or readers alike.
What proceeds is a tale woven by Lemire that is up to par with all the beloved stories that made him the creator of the caliber he is today. While finding common ground in what fuels his passion, he finds a way to bring breathe fresh air into this story as we follow multiple plot points all interconnected to the fishfly-infested mini-mart. Lemire continues to deliver great stories and the art in this issue complements it in ways that feel like both a nightmare and brilliantly done as we see the pages imbued with the ambiance of the supernatural story being unfolded.
The fishfly wings break apart panels and cut to black full pages with the “crunch” splattered across the page that will trigger every audible sense in your body. Overall, Fishflies will deliver a familiarity of what we love about Lemire while diving into the beginning of a brand-new universe that takes a piece of Lemire’s personal experience and is propelled into a supernatural tale of crime and friendship.
A variety geek who enjoys geeking out with friends over video games, comics, or movies/TV shows. An avid wrestling fan since the days of the Attitude Era and N64’s No Mercy, he now spends much of his time reading and collecting comics. All of my puns are intended.
