Okay, I lied. I was really pumped to see what happens next, despite the surprisingly good Spider-Man comic I read yesterday.
It's hard to say how long is meant to have passed between the end of the previous series and the beginning of this one. Not too long, as Ethan is still 16, but I get the sense that a bit more time has passed, in that Ethan now seems to be much more in control of his spiritual body than we've seen previously.
This issue was basically a retelling of the first issue of the first series, in order, I have to imagine, to get new readers up to speed. This is a weird choice, in some ways, as we live in a world of trade paperback collections and ample back issue bins - and as the series is subtitled "Season 2," you'd think those interested might do a bit of research. That said, TPBs and back issues aren't always economically available to everyone, so perhaps the recap is necessary. Of course, because Mr. Gerber and Ms. Skrenes are very capable writers, the recap actually gives us some information that we previously had not seen. I'll admit, it was kind of a difficult comic to read. It's a pretty stark depiction of middle to high school bullying.
I was bullied as a kid. It might be a tough thing to wrap one's head around nowadays, as I'm a 6'2" white male, and I'm pretty large and imposing. And, to be fair, I've always been one of the tall kids. But I've also always been one of the sensitive and intellectual kids, and those kids are easy prey for bullies. Add to the horrific mixture of high school an extremely homophobic societal atmosphere, and a young person trying to figure out their sexual identity, and it's a pretty good recipe for bullying. I still deal with it, even today, though I like to think I've made some progress over the last few years. I can't stand bullies. I know we're supposed to pity them, that they're likely getting mistreated themselves in some aspect of their lives. But I've seen bullying ruin lives, up close, and I'm shocked that it's still so prevalent in pubescent culture. We can do better - we simply have to be willing to tell boys no every now and again. And girls, I suppose. All teenagers can be cruel.
I am excited/saddened to read the next six issues. I think Ethan's story could have been epic if it had been given the life span it deserved.
More to follow.
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