My hope for White Sky has always been about transcending its confines.
Because the tale of a father and child (specifically, David and Violet) traversing the End Times has been done to death (in some iteration or another) far too often. And so it’s been a genuine joy to see creators William Harms and JP Mavinga make decisions to push White Sky beyond the confines of The Last of Us, The Road, etc. What we’ve gotten so far, then, is a familiar enough tale with new layers, teeth, and a fresh dedication to the “trope.”
But after White Sky #3, I’m just as glad that the creators have also embraced this storytelling tradition with similar enthusiasm.
Variant cover by Eliza Ivanova. Courtesy of Image Comics.
Because while Violet’s been away having her own adventures (more on that in just a bit), we find David held as the prisoner of some nasty scavengers who want to put him to work in the salt fields. And in that way, I feel the most resonant bits of the aforementioned Last of Us: a father/father figure struggling for those he loves at the very end of the world, butting up against the evils of man after they’d been “freed” from their social contract. It’s not anything new in that regard, but then it’s always a little fun to see how the social order might implode, and what that move really says about us.
It’s that slightly cliched but nonetheless effective storyline that is always reliable as a proper foundation for the most important themes (i.e., loss, grief, man’s resilience, etc.) David being alone and having to work his way back to Violet is the center of gravity that allows White Sky some wiggle room to really play with its story lore, spiritual and supernatural aspects, and general interest in really opening up the world. I do wish that David felt a little more developed (he’s quite like The Road‘s “The Father” in that way), but then his stoicism and emotional distance are at least thematically relevant so far.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
That last bit is why I really like when the book emphasizes more page time with the scavengers. Again, it’s not exactly anything revolutionary, but seeing the way this world has been shaped by everyday folks is so important. It might look like the same challenges of, say, a zombie outbreak, but Harms and Mavinga frame these “bandits” in such a way that you can feel the unease and tension about living in a world where ghosts haunt and hunt the living (and how that feels like a massive step up from otherwise cannibalistic corpses).
Part of that is that the creators have taken ample time to actually humanize these scavengers. In White Sky #2, we got some time to look at their camps, and how even a few panels could truly show how people might live and respond when death has become the default. In White Sky #3, even a small moment between an “infected” human manages to 1) reveal that the lore behind the ghosts goes so much deeper still (and does so in a way that’s genuinely surprising) and 2) give us more perspective and emotional color without taking away from the core story of Violet and David.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
The scavengers “stuff” has also come to represent an uptick in action, and this issue is the first time where we see what the ghosts actually do to the living. And Mavinga (alongside colorist Lee Loughridge) really seizes the opportunity for something that’s Raiders of the Lost Arc-esque in its body horror delights, with melting people sucked up like Capri-Sun pouches. I’d spent so much time concerned about the world’s development, and these displays remind me that part of the fun is letting myself go to be affected by the insanity and horror of it all. Again, it’s not all super novel, but what is done is quite unsettling and disarming, and that makes the world very, very real in its campaign to shock and dismay the readers.
Still, when it does come to at least some novelty, White Sky #3 delivers as Violet marches on her respective path. In the last issue, she met up with Walter, a young man who might be connected to the supernatural in some way. (Even his design, like a pale, hollowed-out ghoul, makes Walter seem like he expertly toes the line between the living and the dead.) But mostly, Walter’s naivety and child-like demeanor are a way to challenge Violet in some rather interesting ways.
Violet spent White Sky #1 as the child who needed regular guidance from David. Meanwhile, in her dealings with Walter, she’s suddenly playing the role of adult, and it’s clear she doesn’t entirely know what to do. She’s a smart, capable girl, yes, but she’s also out of her league. And so it becomes about this young girl having to step up when she clearly isn’t ready, and if that’s not the best, most effective metaphor for maturity, then I don’t know what is. It certainly elevates Violet in a way (the creators mentioned that she was extra special), and yet it does so in a way that doesn’t feel like needless layers of explanation or added supernatural hijinks to achieve that rather important goal.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
And, sure, challenging their young heroes is a vital part of these kinds of stories, but White Sky does things a little bit different. She gets to be unknowing child (as David makes his way back to her) and still the increasingly competent badass (as Walter clearly needs her for balance and staying grounded to our world). And so Violet becomes someone with contextual layers, a person who can express and explore lots of emotional directions at once.
She’s someone who feels well-developed and multifaceted in her scope, and she’s free to challenge herself and grow in a way that feels more compelling. She’s not just this cliche of, say, Ellie in The Last of Us Part II (regularly coldly assassinating dudes like a mini-Joel). Instead, Violet is real and alive in a big way, and White Sky succeeds in this regard where some other stories have fallen below the mark.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
And there’s so much more from this issue that saw White Sky both play up and transcend its inherent confines. An epilogue at the issue’s end, for example, offers a new infusion of fresh lore and general development that will likely push this book into even more interesting directions (while keeping its focus on Violet, Walter, and this theme of the young/youth). Meanwhile, we’ll likely get even more from the scavengers as they track down Violet and Walter; this continues to be such a vital element that some other stories wouldn’t have given the proper light/attention as to meaningfully cultivate these threads.
But then that’s White Sky for you: It’s a book that, without a lot of noise or overtly obvious intent, seems to be doing big things in its chosen “genre.” There’s still ample story left to tell, and who knows what might happens as characters move further together or closer apart (and other elements are moved into play). But for now, the book has shown a heart and intellect to do something that’s deeply familiar but also while exuding fresh energies and intents. And through that, it’s shocked, surprised, and engaged in some new and inventive ways.
My only real hope, then, is it keeps it up to the absolute end.
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