Wednesday, August 16, 2023

The First Issue of, "Fishflies," is Enchanting and Surreal

"Fishflies," is a new comic written and illustrated by the immensely talented Jeff Lemire. I actually have read much of a version of this comic already, funnily enough. You see, the one and only Substack I ever bothered paying some money to subscribe to was the one Jeff Lemire had. He charged for it just for a year and via the Substack he talked about past projects, upcoming work, and shared pages of, "Fishflies," as it was in progress--with the warning that once it saw print alterations would be made. I loved reading, "Fishflies," while it was serialized online and was bummed it stopped being put in the Substack before ending. Then, I was overjoyed to see the whole thing would come out via seven 64-page issues published by Image. I'm glad issue #1 is out so everyone can see why, "Fishflies," is a great book.

"Fishflies," spends much of its time following a young girl named Franny Fox who lives on a farm in Ontario and ends up becoming friends with a fugitive--before things take a quite fantastical turn with a touch of body horror. The title of the comic refers to the insects commonly called fishflies that can cause quite a mess during their breeding season. They play a major role in the story and are the reason that the story goes from being a bit of a slice-of-life tale to a bit of a surreal sci-fi yarn. I'm being somewhat vague on purpose as the twist at the end of the first issue is quite attention-grabbing and will surely hook readers so that they want and read the rest of the series--spoiling it just feels mean for me to do as while I am someone who doesn't mind spoilers I know some folks do not enjoy being spoiled.


Besides a great story another massive draw for, "Fishflies," would be Lemire's art. Whether drawing the quiet emptiness of a farm or the eerie sight of a convenience store covered in fishflies, his beautiful illustrations always impress. I greatly enjoyed resisting, "Fishflies," and can't wait to read the entire story!

5 out of 5 stars.

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