The final issue of Tom King and Jeff Spokes’s Jenny Sparks opens with a passage from the Bible. It sets the tone for this new world that Captain Atom created in the previous cliffhanger.
The first couple of pages have this banter between Atom and his hostages that sounds off, with repetitive dialogue that feels unrealistic, only serving to prove a point already said in the last issue. Then something big happens and Jenny Sparks spars pointed words at Atom, commenting on the nature of religion and god, which feels somewhat disconnected from the rest of the series.
DC
With each of the previous issues covering a 21st-century tragedy, it’s only fair that this final one deals with the end of the world. Everyone around the world is living in trying times right now, some more than others, and it feels like we are each facing our own “end of the world” scenario. This issue comes at the right time for our introspection.
Jenny tells Virginia Woolf’s life story to Atom, the 20th-century English writer famous for her stream-of-consciousness storytelling style. This serves as a parable for the problems of the world, of disasters past and to come. It’s touching and relevant to the themes of survival. This is the high point of the issue for me, with Jenny and Atom sharing an unlikely moment. The rise of fascism that had swept Woolf away seems ever closer now, one century later.
The ending of this issue has Jenny recap events and explain what she has secretly done behind Atom’s back, which Tom King has done in his books before. There’s a surprising lack of imagination in how Atom creates this “new world” with his powers, which could have been creatively explored in comparison to the real world, especially within the imaginative medium of superhero comics. It would’ve been extra nice to see how Jeff Spokes depicts this world that we don’t get to see. Nonetheless, Spokes excels in this issue, conveying complex emotions unlike any other.
In the end, it’s all about trauma again; everything we’ve read up to this point amounts to a personal story in the guise of global events. It’s a familiar theme within King’s oeuvre, with not enough twists to elevate its emotion. But the art is fantastic and it was quite a distinctive ride, even if it didn’t live up to its potential, and ended not that far off from the beginning. At least there’s a warm sentiment by Jenny herself that I’m sure people need to hear right now, and caps the book off with a sweet uplifting taste.
Jenny Sparks #7 is an important book for our times. It has big things to say and amazing art to accompany it. But it’s brought down by platitudes and is too comfortable with the status quo to leave it for something brighter. Having it touch upon 21st-century tragedies is a brave effort that the book seems too afraid to go all the way.
You must be logged in to post a comment.