In an issue that seems to largely advance the plot, Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell take the time to linger on both bands’ insecurities and conflicts, reunite the divided couples, and develop Pizzazz’s familial backstory in Jem and the Holograms #14. A final tease of the showdown with Silica to come leaves the reader antsy for more.
As the arc hits its full stride, the story takes off, fast and fun. Kelly Thompson built up an anticipation for what Silica and Dark Jem might bring during the last two issues, and this issue pays off in humorous character hijinks and ebullient art by Sophie Campbell and M. Victoria Robado.
The earnest way in which it explores Blaze’s concerns of acceptance as a transwoman and the support it offers her through her close friend Clash and the Misfits as new partners fills me with hope that some day, support and acceptance like this will be the norm. This should be required reading for all teens. Heck, adults too.
Issue #11 kicks off the new Dark Jem arc. As such, it does quite a bit of stage-setting. Thompson finally introduces the Starlight Girls, gives equal time to developing the character conflicts and betrayals in the Misfits, and kicks off the take over of Jerrica and her sisters in the form of a corrupted Synergy.
The biggest reason I’m hyped for Dark Jem is the return of artist Sophie Campbell. The cover designs for the “dark” versions of the band members are deliciously gothic. The normal pastel palette has been replaced by a largely black and white one with subdued pastel highlights. The characters are harder-edged with tattered detail work on their clothing.
Two words could be used to describe comics in 2015: scandal and rebirth. The scandals happened off the pages at both companies large and small, and the rebirth happened in the comics themselves.
With character introductions out of the way, Jem and the Holograms #4 fully focuses on the music, characters, and their relationships. Sophie Campbell continues to make Jem the most stylish book in comics with a nice mix of casual and performance outfits for the characters. She continues to draw women with diverse skin colors and body types while Kelly Thompson spends some extra time develop bits of their personalities. Aja gets to make dad jokes and be the hard worker of the band while Shana tries to make sure everyone is happy and realizes that sometimes you just need a latte break. Thompson also looks at the strained relationship between Misfits super-fans Blaze and Clash and some of the budding romances. However, the story truly comes to life when the musical element kicks in.