DARK JEM part 5 of 5!
Silica’s band The Sickness take over the Misfits’ Tour—and the Holograms have to work with the Misfits to stop her! And just as things look hopeless, an unexpected guest shows up in appropriately dramatic fashion to help save the day… or maybe bask in their destruction!
Between Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #53 and Jem and The Holograms #15, there is a lot of teams preparing for battle against strong opponents this month. It weird though if you think about it as the Transformer comic went with the more emotional character moments while Jem and The Holograms has Tech Rat return and bring some very interesting technological dialogue. You’d think those would be the other way around. Either way, both issues are fantastic.
The return of Tech Rat really helps this issue a lot. Writer Kelly Thompson is Is able to give some interesting bits of dialogue to explain how Silica is able to mind control those who listens to her music. There also is a page with Jerrica remembering her past where Thompson is able to truly capture an awkward parent conversation.
It’s also shown, The sickness (Silica’s band) isn’t just holograms but are real people who are being corrupted by her. Given she should be able to use holograms just like Synergy, it was hard to tell what her band was in the previous issue. As the Holograms and Misfits find a way to deal with Silica, she is free to roam around and control her minions as she sees fit. Makes you feel bad for the poor band members she has under her control.
The art is fantastic as ever. Sophie Campbell’s art and M. Victoria Robado’s color work haven’t diminished their quality from previous issues. The panels where Silica is present are truly memorable thanks to the dark and edgy colors used. The team also employs lighter colors when a flashback is happening so people are able to recognize it’s a dream sequence. With a series where life like holograms can appear any moment, a way to distinguish reality and fantasy is very helpful.
With a late arrival to the issue, it looks like the Misfits and the Holograms will be ready for a showdown against Silica. Issues like this leave the creators with a promise of something big to happen in the next issue. Now all the team has to do is deliver a battle which really resonates with the readers. I’m sure the fans will be crossing their fingers for the conclusion to be truly epic.
