S.I.R. #1 (written and drawn by Fell Hound with colors by Eleonora Bruni) will appeal to readers who both enjoy a good romance story and those who love high-octane action. Avery, a girl who comes from a lower middle-class family, loves Nico, a girl whose rich parents could easily afford to send her to the prestigious Bridleham Academy. As the issue opens, the two girls, who had been deeply in love and inseparable, have now been apart for a while. Avery, desperate to see Nico again, sacrifices everything in order to attend Bridleham so they can be reunited.
You feel for Avery, who went from having a solid and loving relationship with Nico to being abandoned and ghosted by her with no explanation. When they’re reunited, you can tell the love’s still there, but Nico’s carrying some dark secrets that she’s never going to reveal to anyone. The scenes between them feel genuine, you can feel their awkwardness, that discomfort that happens between lovers who stumble over their feelings, and Nico’s regret emanates off the pages. Nico’s different now, harboring some dark secrets. Avery soon finds Bridleham Academy has secrets also.
After a day of boring lectures and students racing to classes ends, Bridleham Academy’s sinister underground comes to life.
BOOM! Studios
Think you’ve seen it all? You haven’t lived until you’ve seen S.I.R., the number one sport of this academic underworld. The centerpiece of the issue is the extended motorcycle jousting battle. This competition is called “Seismic Ironclash Roulette” (or S.I.R. for short), which simultaneously sounds like the most exciting and most puzzling thing ever.
Fell Hound’s art throughout the book breathes life into the story, but this sequence is especially visceral and dynamic, with flashes of motorcycles vaulting through the air and the combatants wielding dragon headed staffs with jagged teeth they can use to club, jab or grab their opponents. The outfits worn by the competitors are stunningly designed, a fusion of medieval armor and the more eye-popping aspects of the Super Sentai genre. Anyone who’s a fan of the Kamen Rider series will love this sequence.
Like any good debut issue, there’s just enough details revealed about main characters Avery and Nico to get us invested in them. Avery’s flashbacks to her and Nico’s time together are touching and there’s an elegance to their scenes that reminded me of the films of Wong Kar Wai, most notably In the Mood For Love, where even the most fundamental elements of the universe want these lovers to be together. Who can resist such a shadowy beautiful world?
You must be logged in to post a comment Login