Boom seems to be the place to go for dark, gripping stories about having a displaced life. The latest one, Last Sons of America, has potential to be the darkest yet.
Written by newcomer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Matthew Dow Smith (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Witches, Doctor Who), Last Sons of America is an America which suffers from an infertility plague, and now the purchase and sale of underpriviliged orphans is becoming a lucrative business. For brothers Jack and Julian Carver, however, they’re losing out to “pickers”, a more morally ambiguous brand who kidnap children to sell for profit.
The bulk of this first issue hinges on the morality of the situation, perfectly presented by the conflicting viewpoints of the brothers. Neither is shying away from the prospect of selling children, but Julian seems to be the more realistic and grounded whereas Jack is openly considering becoming pickers themselves. The brief moments spent in this world in the first issue highlight the moral grey area this universe exists in as the brothers work to convince a family suffering in the wake of a mass job recession to sell them their daughter to get by.
Boom is highlighting dark, intimate stories and providing them with A+ creative teams, and this one’s no exception. If you’re in the mood for a gritty story with a grey sense of morality, this four issue mini-series from Boom has serious potential.
