FISHFLIES #1, from Image Comics on 7/12/23, begins a surreal urban fantasy about a girl who offers refuge to an armed robber, but an act of kindness takes a fantastical twist when the fishflies begin their annual migration.
The Details
- Written by: Jeff Lemire
- Art by: Jeff Lemire
- Colors by: Jeff Lemire
- Letters by: Steve Wands
- Cover art by: Jeff Lemire
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $5.99
- Release date: July 12, 2023
Is It Good?
Whatever preconceived notions you might have had about FISHFLIES #1, they’re probably wrong. Defying expectations can be a good thing when that defiance is done correctly, and we’re going to spoil the reveal of this review by saying Jeff Lemire did it correctly.
Lemire’s script centers on Franny, a snot-nosed schoolgirl who finds an armed robber passed out in her barn after his night of violence and mayhem. The robber isn’t passed out from drunkenness but from a surreal attack by thousands of fishflies during their annual trip to town. When Franny shows the robber where he can rest to heal from his bizarre wounds, she soon learns the fishfly attack can do more than sting.
If you’re at all familiar with Lemire’s body of work, you already know he has a knack for whimsy and heart. Both traits are present in full display in this first chapter with a simple girl with a kind heart and a robber with a broken one. If you remove the fantasy elements of the story, this issue would work just as powerfully as a human drama between two people who cross paths while looking for peace under respectively difficult circumstances.
If you checked out the credits above, you may have noticed the higher-than-usual cover price. To be fair, this is a triple-sized issue so you get more pages per penny than a standard floppy, and the quality in both the art and writing far exceeds a Big 2 comic.
Despite the triple-sized page count, this story moves like a stiff breeze. Lemire is adept at conveying moments, emotion, and meaning through the art of simple facial expressions and character gestures. There isn’t a lot of reading to do in this issue, but the story conveys so much without having to say anything at all.
Speaking, of, how’s the art? Simple, surreal, and poignant. Franny stands out among her classmates with her unflappable kindness expressed through a positive grin and accepting eyes. Lemire adds a splash of color to Franny’s red coat to almost exemplify the depiction of a character wearing her heart on her sleeve. This comic is shockingly subtle and powerful at the same time.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a trio of boys heading to the local convenience shop for ice cream. On this particular night, the annual swarm of fishflies covers everything with a light source. When one of the boys enters the shop, he finds the manager on the floor and an armed robber ransacking the register. The robber suddenly points his gun in the boy’s direction.
The next morning, a young, snot-nosed girl named Franny checks her barn when she sees a path of dead fishflies leading inside. The robber lies unconscious near a stack of wood. He’s bleeding from a gut wound and his body is covered with fishfly bites. Franny offers to give the robber a place to hide and rest because he’s hurt.
We conclude the issue with a father’s neglect, a schoolmate’s taunts, and a robber’s transformation.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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FISHFLIES #1 is a surreal, heartfelt fantasy about a young girl who shows kindness to a robber and the whimsical evolution their eclectic relationship takes. Lemire’s art conveys just as much meaning as the words on the page, and the cliffhanger brims with uncertain possibilities.
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