Traveling to Denver to let Dr. Rusted know what happened to his wife and daughter, Honeysuckle survives an attack by the Comet Cult with the help of former MMA fighter Marc DeSpot.  (The Cult thinks she will turn their leader into the FBI since they claim he foretold the deadly rain.)

Marc decides to accompany her after the tragic death of his cat, but their journey is interrupted by Templeton Blake.  The little boy has followed her for miles believing she needs an umbrella for the journey. Both are angry and upset, grieving the loss of Yolanda, and Templeton insists he is coming to Denver with her. Fearing she’ll never get on the road again if she takes him home, Honeysuckle reluctantly agrees after making Marc promise to take of the boy if anything happens to her. As the trio continues to dodge the crystal rain, the survivors have no idea of the challenges that lay ahead in this post-apocalyptic world.

It’s nice to see that each of our main characters is not only empathetic, but has distinct desires and needs of their own. The demands of the journey often force Honeysuckle to bury her grief until it comes surging back during quiet moments while Marc dresses it up with humor and Templeton is generally overwhelmed. I like that the story focuses on the journey of the characters and not the world trying to repair or right itself. The only hint that the government is doing anything to combat the deadly rain are the occasional texts blaming terrorists or some other country, while ignoring climate change.  It will be interesting to see how grief and trauma either remold Honeysuckle or overwhelm her.

Though at its core a love story, it is also a testament to how we deal with grief—or don’t.

Creative Team: Joe Hill (story), David M. Booher (adaptation), Zoe Thorogood (artist), Chris O’Halloran (colorist), Shawn Lee (letterer)
Publisher: Image Comics
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