Review: Big Girls #5
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer, Artist, Colorist:Â Jason Howard
Letterer:Â Fondgrafiks
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
Gulliver’s plan is revealed, and it might mean war! OK, it does mean war, and Ember has to decide which side to fight for! Not everyone escapes unchanged.
Positives
Big Girls #5 finds Jason Howard, writer and artist of this special book, in full stride. His onion is being peeled back and we keep learning more and more. Ember is such a perfect avatar for the reader. We would like to think we would be like her. Torn between duty and her heart, she breaks ours. I love the fact that we don’t know who to trust because she doesn’t know who to trust. Also, keep in mind the title of this book; Ember is still just a girl. She is a teenager for sure, but a girl nonetheless.
The cherry on top of the storytelling sundae is Howard’s visual skill. That cover is beautiful. If you had never read one issue of this book and you saw the cover of issue five, you would have to open it. It is just special. He knows when to go big and when to scale things down. He could just have this entire book as splash pages, but he doesn’t. We are rewarded to them at just the right time. As soon as I finished, I read it all again just so I could look at the work. He is doing all his own coloring as well. He just pushes our emotions to the limit with those. The page below has this front image of a horrific battle set with blue skies and a beautiful day behind it. What a contrast.
Negatives
Big Girls #5 is simply perfect. I love it so much. From cover to credits, this is an outstanding work of art.
Verdict
Big Girls #5 is spectacular. Could it be the best of the bunch so far? I submit that it could be. I honestly hate having to wait a whole month between issues. The slow burn story telling has me hooked. There is a perfect balance between showing and telling. Howard gets to choose it all because he is doing all the work himself, and we are rewarded for his efforts.
