Hardears by Matthew Clarke & Nigel Lynch

 

Welcome Back,  Booklovers! I've been tip-toeing into the world of comics and graphic novels lately. I love getting a good fulfilling story at a shorter page length with vibrant pictures to keep me engaged. It's such a break of relief in between longer reads. And Hardears had me sold with Afro-Caribbean inspired fantasy by two Bajan writers. I received a finished copy from Abrams Books in exchange for review.

First off I love how Hardears blends different mythology from across the English-speaking Caribbean. Having a basic understanding of Caribbean folklore I was already familiar with some of the types of characters in this story but there's also a character guide included before you jump into reading that's helpful. There's a lot going on in this world and it can be a little overwhelming but I think most of the characters are straight forward so you can debate on whether to read the guide or not.

The story takes place on a Caribbean inspired island called Jouvert Island as a superstorm approaches. The island is destroyed after the storm, people are going missing, and one of the few available jobs left on the island is at Harding's factory.  I like how this takes the concept of vibes as not only a mood but the people's very life essence with Mr. Harding feeding off character's vibes. 

There were a couple different sets of characters the story follows so I was a little confused at first trying to figure how they tie into the overall plot. Eventually the characters come together to rid the island of Mr. Harding's reign of terror.

This also features an afterward about Black comics, afro-futurism, it's Caribbean ties, and the origin of jouvert which gives a little more incite into some of the things in the comic. The group was your standard rag tag superhero group fighting against the big bad. I thought this was a nice introduction to this world but I just wanted a little more story. Bolo, Zhara, and Duppy have a lot of potential that was untapped here. There were little moments here and there that made me laugh out loud.  Some of which I think you would have to be familiar with the culture to understand. The artwork is beautiful and has this classic feeling art style that I really liked. Now that the foundation has been laid I'm ready for us to dive deeper into this world in the next installment.