FAITH RETURNS #1, by Valiant Entertainment on 5/8/24, gives the grounded hero a new chance to reclaim her rep when Col. Capshaw extends an offer to clear Faith’s name in exchange for a role in G.A.T.E.
Credits:
- Writer: Jody Houser
- Artist: Aleta Vidal
- Colorist: Aleta Vidal
- Letterer: Marina Leon
- Cover Artist: Luca Erbetta (cover A)
- Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
- Release Date: May 8, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 34
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of FAITH RETURNS #1:
Plot Analysis:
Faith is back, and Valiant fans everywhere will be pleased to find the spunky superhero making moves to clear her name and get back to the business of being a superhero. Filled with geek culture references, mildly wacky situations, and hints of things to come, Faith fans will likely like this issue.
Faith Returns #1 begins with a narrated recap of Faith’s off-the-radar life as a writer for Zipline Entertainment, writing under her new secret identity as Summer Smith. Framed for murder by the supervillain group called Faithless, Faith is out of the hero game.
One day, Faith is approached by the G.A.T.E. leader, Col. Capshaw, to extend an offer. The hero ranks in G.A.T.E. are dangerously low, and Capshaw offers to pull strings to clear the bogus murder charge in exchange for Faith working for G.A.T.E. Faith makes a counter-offer. If Capshaw can find the Faithless, Faith can capture them and bring them in to clear her name in exchange for G.A.T.E. That way, Faith is back in the hero business with a clear record AND reputation.
Later, Faith calls in Archer & Armstrong to lend a hand to confront the first Faithless member Capshaw finds – Murder Mouse, aka Jeff. The heroes find Jeff working as a magician in a Las Vegas nightclub that’s well away from the main strip. Jeff is out of the villain business but unwilling to narc on his former allies.
Suddenly, a magical artifact in Jeff’s inventory unleashes a destructive demon to create havoc in the nightclub. The heroes leap to trap the demon, and despite his previous reservations, Jeff joins in. Through their teamwork, the demon is captured, and Jeff decides to provide a lead for Faith to find the next member of the Faithless.
Character Development:
Longtime readers will know that personal agency has never been Faith’s problem, nor has her love of making nerd culture references at inopportune times. Houser leans into Faith’s nerdiness with awkwardly placed (presumably by design) references from Star Trek, Dr. Who, and more. If nothing else, Houser gets that Faith is a nerd at heart, and that comes through loud and clear.
Artwork and Presentation:
Overall, there are two weak points of this issue. The art is one of them.
Aleta Vidal’s inks are thick, chunky, uneven, and downright rough in spots. (Note: the preview pages below look considerably more polished than the majority of the comic.). Except for two scenes, there are no backgrounds in any of the panels. Most of the panels have a simple color for the background. And the lettering in the narration is so thick, the letters start to bleed into each other.
The panel layouts and structure are perfectly fine, and the coloring application is very good, but the rest of the book looks like an indie comic made on a shoestring budget.
Art Samples:
Pacing and Structure:
Houser’s pacing is solid. You get what Faith is doing and why, the transitions from scene to scene make sense, and the general narrative flow holds your attention.
That said, the plot structure has good bones but poor detail execution. If Capshaw could easily find Murder Mouse’s location, why couldn’t Faith? Why would a demon suddenly spring to life at random? Why is Murder Mouse storing an artifact with a demon inside? Why did Houser bring in Archer & Armstrong in this issue when they effectively do nothing?
In aggregate, Houser introduces plot elements for the sake of introducing them to give Faith a reason to act, but there’s no logical or explained reason for those developments to occur, which is why the plot is the second weak spot of this issue.
Thematic Exploration:
Underneath the weak art and lopsided plot, the theme appears to be about Faith taking control of her life and fixing what’s wrong on her terms. Capshaw makes an offer that Faith rejects in favor of a counter-offer that works in Faith’s favor. Faith gets a lead about the Faithless and wrangles Archer & Armstrong into helping by reminding them about making good on past promises. In short, Faith (in a nice way) gets what she wants by not accepting less.
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
Faith’s interaction with Capshaw and the convenient inclusion of Archer & Armstrong appear to be paving the way to the Road to Resurgence, which is Valiant’s big reinvigoration across all their titles. Much of Capshaw’s new status quo was established in The Valiants #1, so this issue appears to build and expand on Capshaw as the linchpin going forward.
Final Thoughts:
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FAITH RETURNS #1 sets Faith on the path to clearing her name with an adventure designed to get her back to acting as a hero and connecting her to the Valiant cast of characters. Houser’s plot idea makes sense, and Faith’s geek personality is on full display. However, the plot details are overshadowed by convenient contrivances, and the art is subpar.
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