Skyward tells a story of Willa, a woman who was only an infant during the G-day, when the gravity of Earth suddenly became a fraction of what it used to be. In the current world, humanity has adapted to its new low-gravity reality, in which you can fly but also die, if you jump up too high. Willa’s relatively normal life turns upside down when she finds out that her crippled by anxiety father had been working on how to bring the gravity back for the past 20 years.
I read Volume 1 good few months ago at this point and I don’t remember why, but I have never reviewed it! So I’m correcting that mistake and merging it with Volume 2.
After Willa finds out that one of the richest man in the city, Roger Barrow, used to be friends with her father, she tries to ask him to help him get over the anxiety. Instead, she accidentally lets him know that her father is still alive and so now Barrows wants to kill them both seeing as bringing gravity back to Earth would take away all the fortune he had earned through developing technology to allow people to survive in the new world. Willa finds herself on the run to try and finish her father’s work and fix the Earth, joined by Edison.
I am in love with the world of this story – in which the rich have stayed on the ground with their advanced technology weighing them down (quite literally), while the poor risk their lives everyday living in between the skyscrapers. Going outside of the city is an enormous risk – seeing as in an open terrain, there is nothing to hold on to or attach oneself to. The storms are looking terrifying since the water is not falling down, instead the drops coagulate and circle around in the air. Insects have grown to enormous sizes because they have adapted to the new environment much faster than humans did.
The world that the author and the artist have come up with is incredible. It is so similar to ours, yet completely different and fascinating, imaginative.
The artwork in its entirety is something to admire. It is what has first caused me to look at Skyward in the first place, its cover had drawn me in. I then went on to read on the summary, I also flicked through the pages and I knew I had to read it. Both the characters and the world are just perfect. The faces are detailed and include multiple, realistic expressions. The design of each and one of them is well thought out and creates immense variety between the characters. They’re so fluid, especially in the world described, it adds the dynamics.
The world is simply stunning. I cannot imagine how much attention did the artist had to pay to remember the laws of this new world but they haven’t been forgotten and are included everywhere. The visuals feel so mobile and fluid, it all just makes sense.
The storyline is interesting, it contains a lot of plot twists and keeps the reader on the edge. However I feel like it is progressing too fast, I didn’t have enough time to digest certain situations and their impact, because something else was happening immediately after. Or simultaneously.
As well as that, the dialogue is lacking significantly in comparison to the rest of the comic. Nothing noteworthy has been said, some if it feels cheesy. Considering that despite it all it is supposed to be a very similar world to ours, the dialogue feels unrealistic. The explanations are lacking in certain parts and the story isn’t especially cohesive.
I enjoy Skyward despite its flaws, I’m in awe with the dynamic of it all and the reality of the new world despite it being a fantasy. I cannot help but admire the artwork and all the attention to detail. I will most definitely be picking up Volume 3!
What comic books would you recommend for me to read? 🙂
Thank you for reading this review, let me know your thoughts down in the comment section below! Until next time, Dream On, Dreamers!
The Wolf Pad 