Review: Elemental Micah #4

Artist(s): Michael Georgiou.

A year after I reviewed the first three issues of Elemental Micah, Michael Georgiou is back with a new issue which greatly opens up the background of his main character. Previously, it seemed to be about a gay teenager mysteriously manifesting wind and plant-command powers. Now, it might be about far more than that.

Micah, age 7

Alternating between events in Micah’s life from ten years ago and the fallout of the previous issue’s return of Micah’s off again, on again boyfriend Simon, Georgiou gives us a bit more about the childhood of Micah and his friend Dana: they’re both orphans, and Micah’s adoptive father has had as adventurous a life as his son’s. I don’t want to reveal too much, but let’s just say that Micah’s father appears to be a civil servant of the secret kind. And that this hasn’t been without consequences on his family life. And I’ll leave it at that.

Micah comes out to his father

As in the previous issues, the blend of action/fantasy elements and everyday life concerns is solidly handled by the author, making us care for the characters in a very real way. I also enjoyed the tight storytelling and easy-to-follow transitions from the past to the present and back. Actually, I thought the textures used in the past sequences had the interesting effect (at least for me) of grounding that world even more than the more flat textures used in the present. But it might just mean I like grainy textures.

By giving us glimpses of larger issues contained in his story, Michael Georgiou is setting a challenge for himself: what for me was the charm of his series so far was a short, focused cast of characters thrown head first into the unknown, both because they were young and still unsure about themselves, and because they were facing completely unexpected events. But I must say I’m now even more intrigued about the world he’s building with Elemental Micah. Though I really want to know whether Micah and Simon will stay together or not.

You can see more excerpts of the series at its website, and you can buy the first three comics at IndyPlanet. Issue #4 should be out very soon.

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