Skyward Vol. 1: My Low-G Life
Joe Henderson, writer; Lee Garbett, art & cover; Antonio Fabela, colorist; Simon Bowland, letterer
Image Comics, 2018
Skyward has a simple, but powerful premise: what if gravity were suddenly reduced to a fraction of normal? Gravity is such a fundamental force that it is natural to take it for granted, as it affects almost every aspect of life. The series opens with G-Day, the sudden reduction in gravity, then immediately shifts to twenty years later.
Willa, who was an infant in the opening scene, is now a young adult working as a low-g messenger. When she learns that her father Nathan Fowler was a former colleague of the rich entrepreneur Roger Barrow she hatches a plan to contact him: unknowingly putting her father and herself into extreme danger. Barrow has built a business empire upon devices that simulate life under normal gravity, and Willa's dad says he has a method to restore gravity. Willa quickly learns that Barrow takes her father's theories very seriously indeed.
She tries to escape with her dad, but ultimately--after a great deal of exciting low-g action--it is her father that provides her with the means to escape. And his journal will tell her how to save the world.
Henderson's script is full of sharp, funny writing. And Garbett's art is very strong in characterization: his facial expressions are gold. Sometimes his backgrounds are minimal, but the detail is there when necessary. There's a marvelous double-page splash showing the details of the new ring around the planet, made up of people, vehicles and animals that have escaped the bonds of Earth (the cows are a nice touch).
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