Rookie journalist Lina Santos feels that life is finally going her way when she gets pulled off the entertainment beat to cover a crime story about an abducted boy. Her personal life may be spiraling, but she’s finally received the opportunity to write about something that matters. As Lina digs deeper, she realizes that law enforcement would rather blame Josh’s junkie mother than search for the truth, especially when there may be supernatural forces at play. With the help of Dante, a street-smart man who possesses special abilities, she desperately seeks an entity known as the Frogman, but will they be in time, and what is the price for unmasking the creature?
Gray Cells provides a wonderful addition to stories about truth seekers venturing into the dark and learning their own secrets. Lina Santos longs for meaty newspaper assignments that will change lives while she struggles to overcome fertility struggles and disconnection from her husband Mike. Finding the truth about Josh’s disappearance and exonerating his mother Cherry Glass becomes personal; however, it slowly becomes clear that Lina needs to have something fixable to hold onto since she willfully blinds herself to what she truly needs to find happiness.
Lina is a complex protagonist with strengths that also work as flaws if taken to extremes. It’s refreshing to see a female lead desire career advancement while still craving motherhood and a strong family life. Many stories treat the two options as mutually exclusive. Realistically balancing work and life is complicated, and women still statistically provide most of the home support; however, allowing Lina to have different types of dreams gives her depth and humanity that elevated her above a tough young journalist.
The artwork for Gray Cells possesses a raw, despairing tone, which fits the unsettling material. Even the Frogman’s visions of pleasure contain hints of decay and wrongness, encouraging readers to look deeper to understand why the boys were taken.
Gray Cells intrigued me, and I want to see more Lina/Dante team up stories in the future. Their powerful blend of street smarts, psychic abilities, and stubborn perseverance charmed me. Dante hit a few stereotypes I didn’t love, but he grew beyond them in a way that was satisfying. While I’d love to believe that the city will never have another major crime, the world doesn’t work that way. At least with Lina and Dante investigating, the victims may be helped before they become just another statistic.
4.5 Really, Really, Really Bad Santas out of 5
Creative Team: Lawrence Goodman (Writer), Kay (Artist), Corey Ranson (Colors), and Nikki Powers (Letters)
Publisher: Markosia Press
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