Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Chrissy Williams
Artists: Lauren Knight & Sofie Dodgson
Letterer: Becca Carey
The last few years have been especially brutal for women’s rights, and it feels like everything came to a climax last month with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Women are consistently being valued by their ability to reproduce, and this is an issue that affects everyone. One demographic that is often forgotten about are older women who are unable to reproduce. How does society value them? Writer Chrissy Williams explores this with artist Lauren Knight, colorist Sofie Dodgson, and letterer Becca Carey in Golden Rage, a new miniseries that has been advertised as Battle Royale meets Golden Girls.
Golden Rage #1 takes place on an island full of older women who are no longer able to reproduce. Society has deemed that they have no value, and so they have all been forced into one place where it is now every person for themselves. Jay can’t be any older than her thirties, yet she finds herself on this island where she sees a group of women fighting to the death. Soon, she finds herself accepted by three elderly women, where she learns how to adapt to her new reality.
Chrissy Williams takes this incredible concept and rolls with it. The island is absurd, but the idea of society abandoning elderly women is not. As outlandish as the entire concept is, Williams makes everything feel grounded. The majority of the issue is actually quiet as readers get to know Jay and the group of women that she now lives with. There is tons of humor sprinkled throughout the issue, making the characters easy to connect to regardless of who is reading this issue. There are plenty of tropes and archetypes here, but it is presented in a way that won’t make readers roll their eyes.
Lauren Knight seems to be a newcomer, but readers wouldn’t know that by looking at this issue. Williams’ script heavily relies on an artist that can create expressive characters. There is a lot of dialogue here, and Knight does an exceptional job at staging every panel in a way that makes pages with a bunch of people just standing around entertaining.
Knight doesn’t shy away from drawing the women realistically. There are body types that aren’t typically seen in this medium, and they are fully embraced here. It’s a refreshing change of pace that makes this debut even more special.
Sofie Dodgson’s colors go well with the themes and tones of Golden Rage. A book with this much dialogue needs to use colors to evoke emotions from the reader, and Dodgson does just that. The serene moments are full of lush greens and blues, while the climax of the issue is coated in furious reds that add tension to the pages. Letterer Becca Carey is known for some creative lettering, but Golden Rage is pretty tame in that department. There is a lot of yelling in both the beginning and the end, and the lettering choices help to emphasize that. Otherwise, the lettering is standard, though there is nothing wrong with that.
If Golden Rage #1 falls short in any area, it’s simply the pacing. The opening pages promise lots of action, then the rest of the issue is quiet until the very end. By the time things get exciting, this first issue ends. Fortunately, the quiet moments are time well spent so that readers can connect to the main cast. With a cliffhanger ending and only four issues left, Golden Rage is sure to get more exciting from here.
Golden Rage #1
Golden Rage #1 will be a bit too slow for some, but the characters are fun and the premise is strong.
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