Josh Hood

We Can Never Go Home #5 has several dramatic reversals and gut punching action sequences, but writers Matthew Rosenberg and Patrick Kindlon never neglect the extremely different character arcs of Madison Munroe and Duncan Schmidt. In the words of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one is a rebel and the other is an idiot, and readers find out the definitive answer in this issue. Artists Josh Hood and Brian Level continue to excel at drawing angry 80s teens while using clever layout choices to make the action packed scenes more impactful and intimate. Colorist Tyler Boss punctuates his grainy, 80s VHS color palette with flashes of red for the gallons of blood spilled in this issue and white when Madison manifests her powers to make these panels stand out. We Can Never Go Home #5 has a riveting plot line, visceral art, and also shows the toxicity of the teenage male antihero while laying the foundation for a new kind of post punk rebel heroine (It is fitting that Siouxsie and the Banshees is on We Can Never Go Home’s official Spotify playlist.)

We Can Never Go Home #4 has a vibrant purple and black color palette from Tyler Boss and explores the joy and pain of teenage emotions in an authentic way through Matthew Rosenberg and Patrick Kindlon’s occasionally brutal and occasionally witty dialogue. The story is held together by Josh Hood’s artwork as he can switch from a last conversation between a father and daughter surrounded by black bars to a teenager having his first real sexual experience in more open space to the chases and fights part of the series’ overarching plot

We Can Never Go Home #4 may tread some familiar superhero and conspiracy beats, but the creative team of Rosenberg, Kindlon, and Boss make them seem fresh through unique panel layouts, different-from-the norm coloring, and nuanced characterization.