SWANBLADE

In Kristof’s illustrated novel, a new superhero emerges in the wake of a horrific attack on her city.

The American city-state of New Radion Bay has long been a safe place to live, thanks to the efforts of John “Buck” McAlister, a war hero in the Pan-Pacific Conflict. As chief engineer at Takeda Dynamics—a private technology company founded by Japanese refugee Yoriko Takeda—Buck nearly died saving the facility from a mechanical malfunction. Yoriko retrofitted him with enhanced organs, and he became the hero of New Radion Bay, defending the city from criminal organizations in its midst. During the city’s newfound peace, Buck and his wife had a daughter, Kayla—again with the help of Takeda Dynamics. New Radion Bay remained safe, but now, nearly two decades later, a new villain, The Archivist, emerges and frees Buck’s enemies from the Ice Cube, a cryo-penitentiary ward where the worst inmates are encased in ice. After an attack leaves Kayla a triple-amputee and her father with catastrophic injuries, she receives enhanced prosthetics of her own. Now it’s up to Kayla to rescue New Radion Bay. She’s not alone in this pursuit, however, as she has the steadfast support of her friend, restaurant server Abby, and her police commissioner godfather, Elijah “Eli” Cain. Novelist Kristof and illustrators Reina and Sammarco richly pay homage to comic-book tradition with an inventive storytelling format, and the story they tell examines generational relationships and the effects of abuse. The plot is well thought-out, and the prose is clear and accessible. That said, character motivations feel underdeveloped at times—especially among the villains, including The Archivist—and the narrative sometime prioritizes the delivery of exposition over fully dramatized scenes. The text’s third-person omniscient perspective results in a somewhat distant tone, but the illustrations, scattered throughout the book, will help readers to better visualize the story’s major players.

A sometimes-powerful but unevenly executed homage to comic-book heroes.