Comic Review: Ava’s Demon Book One: Reborn

Writer and Artist: Michelle Fus

Colourists: Arsha, Foch Flos, Minh Ma, Nava, Nicole Sands, Rachel Tibbs

Editor : Alex Antone

Publisher : Image Comics / Skybound

Set in a sci-fi dystopian world, Ava’s Demon Book One: Reborn is the first book in a series of comics aimed primarily at young adults (ages 14+). It was first published as a YA webcomic, breaking webcomic crowdfunding records on Kickstarter, and is now available in a physical format. Despite the age rating, Ava’s Demon will most certainly appeal to a wide range of readers as well.

In Book One, we meet Ava, a shy 15-year-old girl haunted by a demon goddess named Wrathia. Wrathia causes daily chaos for Ava by possessing her and saying cruel things to the people around her. When Silent Scavengers terrorize Ava’s planet, she boards a ship manned by her mysterious classmate, Odin, who carries off Ava’s former friend Maggie. As the ship takes flight, the Silent Scavengers completely destroy Ava’s planet and the hot-headed Maggie starts a brawl with Odin.

Angry that Odin abducted her, Maggie smashes the ship’s control panel with her botanical powers, and the ship crashes into another planet. Ava dies as a result. Wanting a second chance at life, Ava’s destitute soul makes a pact with Wrathia. Wrathia agrees to give Ava a better life in exchange for revenge against Titan, the all-powerful being who destroyed her empire.

Michelle Fus’ stunning artwork breathes new life into the sci-fi dystopian genre. The art is very pretty to look at, and each major character has their own defining colour palette. Ava is a fiery red, Maggie has hues of green and blue, and Odin has a dark colour scheme. The dystopian world in 3023 is wonderfully drawn with Titan’s planet inhabited by creepy blue humanoids, contrasting with Ava’s vivid red.

Ava’s Demon Book One is chock full of action with intense emotional moments that make the direction of the story unpredictable at times. There is a particularly creepy scene with Ava and one of Titan’s followers that gave me goosebumps. The reader cannot help but root for Ava as she manages to escape her dire predicaments each time. Maggie is reckless, mean, and unlikeable, but there is a story behind her and Ava’s past friendship that may be central to Ava’s character development. There is also some interesting dynamic developing between Ava and Odin that I can’t wait to see progress in the later books.

I really like the font choices for Ava’s Demon. The lettering has a youthful appearance, and the sound effects enhance the scenes. There isn’t an overwhelming amount of dialogue, but when it appears, it is impactful and not distracting.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Ava’s Demon Book One, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of sci-fi and fantasy comics. I can’t find any flaws with this work; it is utter perfection and is one of the best comics I have read yet.