It is very refreshing to meet the brilliant cast of characters from the TV show in this first issue. Kennedy perfectly captures the personalized language of the characters—from Sarah’s “yeah?” to Alison’s “Christopher Crutches!” These characters are faithful reflections of their TV selves, which makes it promising that this series will continue to bring us classic moments and quotes. The deviation of Beth allows us to appreciate the eccentricities of another character while the others remain consistent with those that we have grown to love from the show.
In reading this issue, fans of the TV show will recognize some of the show’s greatest and most entertaining moments, such as a Clone Club meeting and Felix painting nude under his apron. And readers who have not seen the show are introduced to the idea of multiple clones running around and the potential complications they must face. They get to discover these characters fresh and find all the quirks that make them so brilliant and likeable.
Wayne Nichols’ art also creates characters that are recognizable from the series. He does a nice job drawing clones who resemble one another but still have slightly different physical qualities. There is something in the way he draws the lips, especially, that reminds us that these women are all clones. Nichols is the Tatiana Maslany of this series—he has to create identical characters who are all recognizably unique. So far, I applaud his skills, and I look forward to seeing Helena, Rachel, and hopefully Krystal.
The variant covers are unique and clever. I especially like Kelly Blake’s 3D papercraft design. I hope that for each issue, she brings a different papercraft character so we can build our own paper version of Clone Club. I also enjoy the “DNA Sequencing” of comic book writing at the end of the issue. This breaks down the artistic process for those who are scientifically minded—or for those of us who just appreciate a creative play on a theme.
Overall, I found this issue to be really engaging. So much happens, but it is not overwhelming. The story leaves us wondering how the overlaps in plot will deviate throughout the series, and it raises anticipation for more crazy, funny, intense, and scary moments between all of these great characters.