Indie Comics Review: Home #5

Review: Home #5

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Julio Anta 

Artist: Anna Wieszczyk

Color Artist: Bryan Valenza 

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Review by: Kendra Hale

Summary

In the last issue, Gladys and Juan made it to safety, or so they thought. Taking advantage of those sweet thoughts, Gladys went back to work, leaving Juan at the apartment. An innocent act left Juan exposed to ICE and Gladys too far away to reach him in time, sending her children into the fray to help their cousin with their powers. And this is where we meet up with them in this final issue for the first arc of the series, Camila and Andres have caught up with Juan right when he needs them most. Let us join them!

Clobberin’ Time On Pause

Camila and Andres show up right in the nick of time as Juan has decided he is tired of running and hiding, and the time to fight is here.  The ICE agents seem to be using extreme force, which is the only thing both Camila and Andres need to make their decision on what level of power to use. All is fun and games until Aunt Gladys shows up and is furious about how things have gone. 

She restates the priority was to get Juan to safety, not fight. But things have been escalated and they barely make it out to safety as Camila transports them to her and Andres’ base. They stay there, safe and hidden, and watch as press conferences tell them every word they long to hear… but is it too good to be true? Is someone really seeing their plight or is it all a farce to extort them?

Positives

Julio Anta has given readers a glimpse into a world not that different from our own. The struggles, emotions, and experiences that are expressed are hard to take at times because of their utter footing in real life. But this hearkens back to the days where raw, hard issues were fully on display in comics, and I love that. I am a firm believer that adding these elements makes the series easier to relate to and makes the characters more alive. 

Speaking of which, the art is always on point as, between Anna Wieszczyk’s art and Bryan Valenza’s color choices, we see these characters come to life. Juan and Camila’s frustrations are fully on display, as is the joy Andres feels at finally having a chance to cross the lines and stop being a pacifist for once.  Everything about this story feels genuine and passionate. 

Negatives

Aside from there being no more currently, there is really nothing I would see as a negative. It ends on a cliffhanger, but is one to be expected. 

Verdict

Home #5 is a worthy finale. Home itself is a brilliant series with a story that gives a voice to those that deserve to be heard and not ignored. Beautifully done. 

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