Black Comics
REVIEW: Amelia Sky
Amelia Sky is a sci-fi/horror (with a dash of superhero) series from writer Jermaine M. Boyd and illustrator Gwynn Tavares. The opening moments of the series show us the chaos that has descended upon the world due to an apparent alien invasion. An unconscious Amelia is whisked up the stairs of an office building by her parents who are arguing about what to do with Amelia. Her mother wants to bring Amelia with them, but her father argues they should kill Amelia so that she doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Suddenly an explosion shakes the building forcing her parents to leave Amelia. A month later, Amelia awakes in the same office building and her story begins.
Issues 1-3 of Amelia Sky follow Amelia in a post-apocalyptic world, where aliens, known as Shriekers, have killed the majority of the human population. Amelia awakes with little to no memory of her past, but a mission to find her parents. Along the way, she encounters other survivors who both help and hinder her progress. Issue 3 sees Amelia’s biggest threat yet, and perhaps the largest evolution in the plot as well. New information is revealed, but it could also all be untrue, perhaps issue 4 will tell.
The story is unique and a perfect mix of sci-fi and horror. The plot feels like The Walking Dead meets Independence Day, but the aliens won. Boyd teases the backstory of this world slowly and keeps his secrets about Amelia’s past. The first two issues are good, but the pacing seems a bit slow and we don’t learn as much as I had hoped about Amelia or the Shriekers. Issue 3 begins to potentially reveal new information and the pace begins to pick up as issue 3 closes.
I am unclear how old Amelia is, and her dialogue doesn’t help. She is clearly a child, but her interactions with adults in the series make her come across as older than I believe she is intended to be. Perhaps Ameli is mature for her age, but without knowing more about her backstory, the dialogue comes off oddly at times.
Tavares’ art is beautiful and perfect for this book. The art lends a cinematic horror vibe for the entire story. The colors elicit the feeling of a cold, barren world and evoke the quietness that you hear in the middle of heavy snow. The illustrations help add to the mystery of the Shriekers by never giving us too close of a look, yet still revealing enough to make us frightened.
Issues 1-3 of Amelia Sky are a fantastic read, especially as the pacing finds its stride in issue 3. I read them all in one sitting and was disappointed when issue 3 came to a close. Boyd’s unique plot and heavy mystery combined with Tavares’ art is a homerun. I hope future issues begin to unfold the mystery of who is Amelia Sky and what happened to the world. I, personally, would also like to see the return of a friend from issues 1-2, but perhaps I’m too sentimental for this new world that Amelia finds herself in.
You can buy issues and learn more about the world of Amelia Sky at https://www.who-is-amelia-sky.com/
About Amelia Sky
This sci-fi/horror series chronicles the life of Amelia Sky, a young girl who awakens in a post-apocalyptic world with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Along her journey of self-discovery, she finds that she holds extraordinary abilities that could save the human race from extinction by the deadliest threat the world has ever seen, an invasion of a species from the beginning of the universe. A race that lives only for energy will obtain it by any means necessary – the Shriekers. Amelia will face villains like no other, turning her from a shy, naive girl, into a calculated killing machine. She will stop at nothing to protect the friends and allies she meets along her journey.
