Comic Review: Bolero #1

Image Comics

Writer: Wyatt Kennedy

Artist: Luana Vecchio

Letters: Brandon Graham

Bolero offers one of the most interesting #1’s I’ve encountered in awhile. While traveling the multiverse might sound old-hat in 2022, Bolero does not involve the retconning of disparate canons or having celebrity variants team-up and/or make out at the edge of known reality. Instead, Bolero poses an eternally intriguing question. If you could hop into another life, another version of yourself, would you do it? Would you leave behind your current lot, even without any guarantee that the grass would be greener?

Bolero structures itself like any good sci-fi adventure with aspirations of becoming an ongoing classic. Yet, readers should not expect protagonist Devyn to spend much time battling aliens or mutant sewer people (though, that all could very well be in the cards). No, the journey Bolero promises is one of self-discovery, recovery, and regret. And likely some re-self-discovery.

Wyatt Kennedy’s deeply intimate yet dizzying cosmic narrative is anchored by Luana Vecchio’s stellar artwork. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Tony S. Daniel’s recent work on Nocterra, though Vecchio’s sets and designs are dressed in a dreamy, silk shift. Hot pinks and soft blues underscore smooth yet penetrating character designs. Devyn and Natasha clearly stand out in every panel, thanks in part to their carefully assembled, realistically revolving outfits. 

There are so many precious moments to kick-off Bolero, from a prom night first kiss to a quaint montage of Devyn and Natasha playing house. Natasha is a good (and in-pain) sport when she helps Devyn refine her skills as an aspiring tattoo artist. There’s a touching romance.

Layouts are rather straightforward, but they carry readers through a sweet introduction that jumps suddenly to the present. We find Devyn, no longer with Natasha, in something of an existential funk. As the story progresses, we learn that Devyn is a struggling alcoholic with little professional direction–not to mention a depth of unmanageable loneliness. And better still? Her best friend is about to marry “human khakis,” leaving Devyn alone in Los Angeles.

The closing pages of Bolero #1 take some unexpected turns, to say the least. Without spoiling too much, a magical alien bobcat gives Devyn the opportunity to change her life. Some fifty-odd times, no less! The only catch? She has to leave behind everything she’s ever known, ever loved. And there’s no going back.

The final images of Bolero are shocking in the best ways. I eagerly await whatever Kennedy and Vecchio cook up next!

Read Bolero #1 On Comixology / Amazon