There’s nothing like being told to have sex that save the galaxy.
Creative Staff:
Story: Sean Lewis
Art: Steve Uy
Letters: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
The Betrothed’s earth-bound guardians get involved as all hell breaks loose for Kieron and Tamara. After battling Barbarians and having their friends discover the truth about the pair, how can they find a way to cope? Enter an all-night keg party, filled with flirtation, jealousy and a few pranks along the way. Funny, fantastical and full violence—issue #3 arrives with a bang!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a strong opening issue and some definite fun in the second, Betrothed has a kind of crazy energy about it that keeps it all moving forward without overdoing it, both in plot and in the visual design of it. Sean Lewis gives the group a chance to breathe a bit here, with some obvious subtext in the mix, but it still feels like events are moving forward because it’s not focused entirely on the kids. Steve Uy continues to put in some really great designs and I love the layouts in play here as we follow the action, the party, or just the quiet moments between our two leads. It has a really neat kind of raw and dynamic side to it but the colors give it a stronger polished feeling as a whole.
The book gave us a lot to take in so far and bringing the kids back to Earth, in crazy form, only to discover that their respective caretakers have been overseeing the truth for some time makes things worse. Or would, if not for the arrival of others looking to end Tamara’s life in order to forward their side. There’s a good bit of action that we get here but I was much happier that the rest of the book largely avoids the action elements. It deals with the fallout of what’s going on and the discovery of it all by their friends Andy and Annaleigh, who are now caught up in all of it as well as they essentially have targets on their back. The only thing I didn’t care for was having Andy going on, seemingly with every other sentence, about his weight and making it such a point. I get it but at the same time most folks that are like him tend to not talk about it and downplay it. Granted, some of it is because of the situation but it all just felt forced.
While things do settle down quickly with Swift and Petra holding things off, they look to deal with their own issues (and report in) by sending the kids to go hit up a party that’s going on so they can blow off some steam. The subtext of having Tamara and Kieron go fool around is there but Tamara is still very much on that not being told who to have sex with even to save the galaxy mindset, which I am totally behind. She’s super sensitive because of everything and that plays badly for Kieron who is just trying to be supportive but in the wrong ways. It’s a lot of teenage hormones on overdrive, which I’ll attribute to what they’re dealing with, and that gets Tamara to act out more than she normally would. She’s definitely struggling with things and being thrust into a new world at the end of this issue is just going to make things worse, especially with their friends being dragged along for it.
In Summary:
One of the things that gets me about Betrothed is that the whole thing just feels packed. This is a “down” issue with the kids getting time to react, process, and cope with what’s been going on but it still feels like there’s a good bit of pressure to it. That works in its favor because even though they hit up a party it feels natural and they’re not ignoring what’s going on. We do get a lot of stuff thrown at them and the reader and it may be tough to keep track of who is who sometimes, but the book is definitely engaging and keeps me wanting more and more of it for both the story and the artwork to see where it’s going to go. It’s a fun and crazy ride that’s embracing the outlandish parts in the right way and grounding itself in others to remain accessible for readers, making it the best of both worlds.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: May 9th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
