Writer: Tim Daniel, David ‘DB’ Andry
Art: Marco Finnegan
Colors: Jason Wordie
Letters: Justin Birch
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Price: 4.99
Final Order Cutoff: February 26, 2024
Available in Stores: March 27, 2024
1956. Kootenai National Forest, Montana. When smokejumper Nathan Garrett perishes in a raging wildfire, his surviving family’s hopes and happiness turn to ashes.
Now, one year following Nathan’s death, wife, and mother of two, Jolene Garrett, takes her crumbling family to the Morning Star lookout seeking solace through closure–to scatter her husband’s remains. But something far beyond the reach of their wildest imaginings awaits the Garrett family in the Montana wilderness–something more powerful than their anguish and torment. Something that transcends space and time. No telephones. No electricity. No transportation. No escape.
Grief And Imagination
Nathan Garrett is a smokejumper, a specially trained wildland firefighter who parachutes down at the site of a wildfire and provides an initial attack response. In 1956 Garrett, perishes while fighting a wildfire in Kootenai National Forest in Montana.
But Morning Star #1 isn’t about Garrett. The issue does open on his plight and introduces something more dangerous than the fire, potentially supernatural. Then it jumps ahead, to after Garrett’s death, and centers on the family he left behind: a wife, Jolene, and two children, Marabeth and Charlie. Jolene intends to return to Kootenai National Forest with her children and spread her husband’s remains in the hope of gaining closure.
Morning Star #1 is a human story more than anything else. It sets up something fantastic for upcoming issues. But right now it’s an accessible story about a family. Emotions are front and center. Readers who have lost close family members may find parts of this drama recognizable. Jolene is at first distracted and then gets easily caught up in an argument with her sister. Teenage Marabeth is angry over potential change. The younger Charlie is firmly lost in his imagination.
Daniel and Andry are more concerned about connecting readers to this family than in whatever story is going to follow in future issues. Stories are usually better if you’re invested in the characters, and that’s what Morning Star #1 seeks to do more than anything else.
There are potential hints to the developing story, mostly via Charlie. Fantastic images appear in the background as the family drives to the national forest. But are those things in the background real or merely in Charlie’s imagination? The issue doesn’t make it entirely clear.
Finnegan’s art calls to mind older pulp comics. The art is vaguely similar to Max Plaisted, though Finnegan’s lines are thicker and his inks heavier. Wordie’s coloring is more varied than the classic four color selection, but the feel is the same. The colors are rich and at times vibrant. They add dimension but, like some four color or pulp style books, transitions between lighter and darker aren’t subtle.
Final Thoughts
Groundwork is laid for some kind of supernatural story. There is very little to intuit from this issue just what that will be. But whatever it is, the Garrett family are compelling characters in the midst of grief and seeking some kind of solace. That emotional difficulty promises additional complication for whatever is coming. The suggestion of what’s to come seems more supernatural and fantastic than strictly horror, and if that’s the case then the art and color styles are well suited. Morning Star #1 is holding its cards close to its vest, but it offers a lot of promise and is worth checking out.
Morning Star #1 is available to order until Monday, February 26, 2024 and arrives in your local comic shop on March 27, 2024.
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