Review - Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 (@mageComics)

"This is your chance to stand out and make some money."

The 24-hour news cycle is typically referenced as a means of saying most news items go away after 24-hours. It also means that news happens 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. The point is that people are always tuned into news, regardless of whether it's good or bad. In Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 from Image Comics, the news is pretty awful and horrific. The issue is written by Jim Zub, illustrated by Djibril Morissette-Phan, colored by K. Michael Russell and lettered by Marshall Dillon.

Kaydon Klay wants to be famous. She wants it more than anything else she's ever known. The dream is hers for the taking, and all she has to do is embrace the national tragedy that's put her in the spotlight...

Zub has made a name for himself crafting tales that typically involve some level of action, humor or magic sprinkled in which makes his work in Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 that much more impressive. The issue's opening is blunt in its setting, dropping the reader right into the thick of a horrific crime scene and pivoting to Kaydon Klay's supposedly intimate knowledge of the perpetrator. While the introduction feels fast, Zub slows things down from there as he funnels the story through the fallout of Kaydon admitting she might know more about the motives behind the crime. That's where Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 excels--the consequences of fame when foisted upon an individual who is really an unknown entity. Zub also knows where he excels and manages to work in a supernatural/horror angle in terms of a monster who's supposedly inhabiting the suspect; that type of supernatural twist helps make the book feel even more impactful.

The line art by Morissette-Phan is emphatic in its approach. Characters are rendered with a combination of thicker outlines and heavy shading that define the contours of their bodies, affording them weight on the pages. Morissette-Phan presents the settings in a way that is very angular to provide a sense of cleanliness in his style. The panels are arranged in a fluid way that also works with the pacing of the story, although Morissette-Phan peppers in a few page s with empty gutters that feel a little jarring. Russell's colors are somewhat washed out and cast a dreary pall over the entirety of the proceedings which fits well within the atmosphere of the story.

Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 is a very frenetic first issue that delves into what people will do for fame. Kaydon Klay is something of a reluctant star being pushed to capitalize on her relationship with a suspected mass-murderer, but she quickly realizes that fame isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Zub's dialogue is punchy and unapologetic at times, offering a rather blunt assessment of the reaction of those around you when it comes to fame. The artwork by Morissette-Phan has the right amount of edge to it that it does a great job in setting the tone of the remainder of the series. Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 is a fantastic first issue that's very dark (and at times violent).

Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #1 is available now.