Livewire #4 Owns Up To Mistakes Of The Past
by Tony Thornley
As Livewire, Amanda McKee is one of the most interesting protagonists in comics. She is a fierce defender of her people, but also a character willing to own up to her mistakes. She did the right things for the wrong reasons, and in this issue, she owns up to that.
Vita Ayala, Raul Allen, Patricia Martin, and Saida Temofonte wrap up the first arc of the series in an explosive issue, in more ways than one.
Pan de Santos has beaten Livewire. However, torturing her may prove to be their undoing. In fact, it may give her exactly what she needs to move forward.
Ayala smartly picks up right where they left off last issue. This allows them to play with Amanda at her worst, and breaking her down to build her back up is exactly what she needs. This helps her evolve into a character that owns her troubled and dark past, while moving forward as a revolutionary. It’s a surprisingly natural evolution across the arc.
Allen and Martin are extremely smart in their choices here. For the first half of the issue, Allen keeps the action centered in the panels and pages, while Martin’s colors are fairly monochromatic. Then, when Amanda breaks free of Pan’s control, they begin shifting layouts, character placement, and pallate choice that conveys the lethal dance between these two enemies in more ways than just the two punching each other.
I’m always excited to see this book pop up in my pulls. It’s one of the smartest superhero books on the stands today, and is worth picking up every time.
Livewire #4 is available now from Valiant Entertainment.