Calexit #1 from Black Mask -
When the current president was elected, much of California wasn't happy. It erupted in mass protests and contempt - vitriol was directed at both sides of the political spectrum as California's more liberal cities decried the unfairness of the election process and California's more rural conservative areas celebrated one of their own in the Big Chair again. The president lashed out, issuing a disastrous executive order calling for the immediate deportation of all those not identified as U.S. citizens. California responded powerfully, declaring itself a sanctuary state, a declaration which led to near civil war between California's liberal metropolitan areas and its more conservative rural enclaves, as well as all loss of any support, or recognition as a state, from the federal government. Years later, the president has been re-elected, and he's making a big push to reclaim California by any means necessary. Zora Donato, a beloved freedom fighter who has somehow gotten in way over her head, has been targeted for elimination by the president, or someone in his administration. They've sent a monstrous functionary by the name of Father Rossie to get the job done, and he'll kill, with a simmering psychopathic glee, anyone who gets in his way. Zora's only hope is a morally questionable smuggler named Jamil. Can Jamil get her safely into the hands of the Resistance, or will they both wind up as rotting corpses in the beautiful California sun?
Matt Pizzolo pens a powerfully frightening comic about a very possible dystopian future in Calexit #1. This story hits all the perfect notes of paranoia to make the reader cringe - Calexit just might keep the well-informed, politically-aware reader awake at night. Much of Calexit seems snatched from actual headlines and synthesized into a harrowing fictional nightmare of a story that could actually someday creep stealthily into the real world. I shudder just to think about it. With the current political climate of our country, Calexit left me haunted, praying that this work would remain one of fiction, never entering into the realm of political prophecy. In Zora Donato, we find a protagonist who is a much-loved freedom fighter - many are willing to sacrifice everything for her; however, as tender and beloved as she may be, she is also headstrong, focused and flawed. She sees the big picture of resistance only - sacrifices are acceptable to her as the reasonable cost of freedom. Jamil is a cocky free-spirited smuggler with a devil-may-care twinkle in his eye and a wit sharp enough to cut your heart out. Basically, we've got Han and Leia here, so I can't wait to see how their relationship evolves as this highly charged political thriller unfolds. And the main antagonist? He's a menacing, calculating, evil, true-believer - a fanatic that somehow reminds me of Hugo Strange with more hair. He relishes getting his hands dirty in service to his party and his president. Amancay Nahuelpan's pencils hit all the right notes too - they are precise, busy, and emotive with a daintiness and fragility to them. It's a beautifully rendered book about a very ugly subject - the irony wasn't lost on me. Calexit is, in every aspect, a truly magnificent work. It's relevant and chilling but hopeful with a bit of humor thrown in. It comes as no surprise that it is published by Black Mask, a comic company publishing works that seem to be the most tapped into the current social issues. Calexit just may end up being the comic book of a generation of politically embattled Americans. Don't sleep on it.
RATING: 10 out of 10.
PS - Don't miss out on reading Pizzolo's editorial essay, and his conversations with Amanda Weaver, Lexi Alexander and Bill Ayers in the back of the comic.
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