“Yesterday’s” Comic> Freex #1

One of these days I will find out what all these people keep running after on these covers.

Freex #1

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (July, 1993)

“Freaked”

WRITER: Gerald Jones

PENCILER: Ben Herrera

INKER: Mike Christian

COLORIST: Paul Mounts

LETTERER: Tim Eldred

EDITOR: Chris Ulm

Two of our main characters manage to escape the police before meeting up and we get a proper introduction to our cast. Val, the girl from the preview, controls fire and has issues with the police because her last encounter was an officer trying to get some nookie when she was in jail, accused of being an arsonist rather than her fire powers going out of control. Lewis who helped her out, has his ability to turn into a goopy form revealed during his big football game. And Ray is a rock person whose parents kept him locked away but he finally escaped. They were all drawn here by strange messages sent to Lewis, as is a yet unidentified new girl that Val already hates because she pretty much hates everybody. Lewis knows they were called together for a reason, to survive as each of them has powers that put them outside society. Ray comes up with a name for the “gang”, Freex, just as a machine smashes through a window and turns into a robot with a TV for a head, introducing Michael, the last member of our cast.

What they got right: Most of the characters get just enough backstory that you understand their situation and powers.

What they got wrong: Except for the last two because there isn’t time. If the mission was to make me not like Val, it’s succeeding. I don’t care what she’s been through, and it’s not good things, she’s the type of person I’D want to avoid.

What I think overall: The reading order wants me to stay here for the first five issues before going to the next series. We’ll see if I’m still interested at the end. Right now it just looks like a white version of Blood Syndicate, and that wasn’t my kind of comic, either.