Zoe's Blues
Issues # 1-3 (of four)
Story by Carla Rodriguez
Illustrations by Rosa Colon
Price: $3.00 per issue
Email: sodapopcomics@hotmail.com
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I first heard about this comic through the I Read Comics podcast. I'm always interested in indie superheroe comics, so I wrote to Rosa and Carla asking if I could buy copies of Zoe's Blues. In a few weeks, I had review copies of all three issues waiting for me in my mailbox. (Thank you Rosa and Carla!)
Each issue is printed in color on nice, semi-glossy paper and side-stapled. For the production quality alone this comics is worth $3.00, but the story and images support this worth. There is an interesting juxtaposition between the flowing, pencil drawn characters and the precise, thick lines of the settings. A pencil-shaded Zoe moves in a world of bright colors and patterned backgrounds. The first time I read Zoe's Blues, I was thinking, I don't know if you can do this and make the comic work. But by the third issue, I was digging it. This is sometimes the way I feel in my day to day life. The people I know are real and vibrant. But the mundane furniture of my life - the desks and tables - are replicable images. I've moved across the country with two suitcases, but the furniture I have in my new apartment could just as easily have been with me in Alabama. The images in Zoe's Blues could have been done in completely one realm or the other, but I like the slight discord. It makes me ask the comic questions, and interact with the text.
The story is fun and engaging. Zoe has superpowers (ice!) that she has not quite mastered yet. She wants to go to college, but her parents want her to join their superhero team. Zoe struggles with writing a college application essay and crushes on the cute waiter at the cafe where she goes to take a break from her family. The first two issues set up the world and the minor elements of discord within the family, but in issue three the plot picks up the pace and the villain Speed Demon (who briefly made an entrance in issue two) takes control of Zoe's story.
Issues one and two have great character development. Flashbacks to Zoe's childhood are interwoven smoothly with the current family events. There are several lovely scenes of interaction between young Zoe and her parents. The most moving of these occur when Zoe's optimism is thwarted by her uncontrolled powers.
But issue three is my favorite so far. Speed Demon arranges a chat with Zoe, and in addition to being an incredibly cute Speed Demon he also precipitates the kind of witty dialogue that will make you smile as you read. It starts with Zoe and Speed Demon's first conversation together. Zoe asks, "What gave you the bright idea that I would help you?" and Speed Demon, looking flustered, answers "Well, because you look like a reasonable human being, and..." then in an inset close-up of Speed Demon's face "I know stuff." :). Yes! Smile. :). These are the geeky heart-warmers that make the third issue of Zoe's Blues extra cool and make me wish for a plush version Speed Demon with whom I can have similarly shyly incoherent conversations.
Speed Demon divulges the story of Zoe's parents and then makes her an offer she will hopefully refuse. As Zoe listens to Speed Demon's story, her parents search for her. Zoe's younger brother, Tommy, sits on the floor beside his sister's bed and worries. The character depictions are very realistic in this issue, and the two art styles interact on a new level. When Zoe's parents fly out of the house to search for their missing daughter, their curvy, pencil outlines move away from the angular lines of the house in a brief but powerful image of movement and intent.
I have not read the fourth issue of Zoe's Blues yet, but if issues one through three indicate the progression to the fourth, then it is likely to be a great comic.
Zoe's Blues is definitely a comic to check out. Rodriguez and Colon have created an inspiring art style, a cast of believable characters, and a female protagonist with superhero powers and a hip outfit. I enjoyed reading the issues, and hope that Zoe will return someday for a graphic novel length adventure.
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