The One Who Understands Her – She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #3 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Luna’s family receives a visitor claiming that Luna’s grandmother is still alive, but the mother won’t believe her. Meanwhile, Luna continues to spend time with Gary, forming a genuine connection. However, Luna still decides to try Mayura’s medicine to destructive effect. Across the world, Bill has almost finished recreating Mayura’s flying machine for the Russian paramilitary operatives.
She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #3 is another heavy issue that shows Luna’s continued decaying mental state while her relationship with Gary seemingly improves.
Once again, despite the conspiracy and science fiction elements, She Could Fly is, at its core, about a young woman’s struggle with mental illness, and it’s possibly the best depiction of such issues that I’ve ever seen. It’s heartfelt, painful, and absorbing as all hell. Luna’s moment with Gary in the street brought me to tears. Her mental health is in a steep spiral, and it’s gut-wrenching to watch what’s happening to her.
Bill’s story is interesting too, make no mistake. Despite the peculiar James Bond-esque situation in which he finds himself, there is a very grounded story about grief and guilt there.
Gary is turning out to be quite likable as well, and you want to love him all the more for actually bringing some joy to Luna’s life and understanding the struggle of her illness.
Martín Morazzo’s artwork is gritty and even, at times, a little ugly. However, that’s the kind of honest and true aesthetic a comic She Could Fly needs. Luna isn’t a healthy person, her family isn’t perfect, and the world around her isn’t a high-flying science fiction fantasy. As such, the art should be a little ugly at times. It works, and it, by contrast, makes the comic more beautiful as whole. Miroslav Mrva’s color palette is often cold and alienating, and that suits the comic’s themes perfectly too.
She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #3 is another painful and heartfelt issue tracking Luna’s continued mental decline and the international conspiracy surrounding Mayura’s flying machine. This has been a wonderful comic series, and this issue holds true to those standards. It gets a recommendation for sure; give it a read.
She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #3 comes to us from writer Christopher Cantwell, artist and cover artist Martín Morazzo, color artist Miroslav Mrva, and letterer Clem Robins.
Final Score: 9/10