On a gorgeous summer day in Boulder, Colorado, Honeysuckle nervously awaits the arrival of her girlfriend Yolanda who is moving in. Their relationship is filled with romance and rife with opportunity.  They are surrounded by those who accept their relationship wholeheartedly, like Yolanda’s mother, and those who aren’t quite sure what to make of it, like their neighbor, Mr. Waldman. Even the kid next door, Blake, is cute and charming in all the right ways. It would be a happy time if the death of everything that Honeysuckle has ever known and loved wasn’t right around the corner.

Based on a short story by Joe Hill, Rain is both heart-rending and terrifying at the same time.  From the very first panel, we know that Honeysuckle and Yolanda care deeply for each other, but the voiceover tells a much different story. We know something bad is going to happen, but when it finally arrives, its impact is no less intense. The voiceover is deftly used to communicate the past, present, and future timeline and give depth to the story. The art suits the world quite well, and I love the splash page of the photos and cellphone images of the two young women. It conveys the time these two spent with each other, building their relationship quite well and using the least amount of space.

It is – at its core – a love story and what will probably be a slow descent into a climate apocalypse; however, what it emphasizes is how important it is to tell those you care about that you love them before it’s too late. I also suspect the letter Yolanda’s father left for Honeysuckle is critical to something in the future.

The issue also includes an introduction to the dark murder mystery, Unname, by Chriss Ryall and Ashley Wood.

I really like this one, and I look forward to the next issue.

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