FAITH

A female superhero dealing with personal PR issues heeds the call of a fellow hero in need of some spectral assistance.

Faith Herbert isn’t your ordinary young white woman: She can fly and move objects using her superpowers. However, she’s in a slump after she—or rather her hero alter ego, Zephyr—was (wrongly!) accused of murder, so she’s had to lie low as her alter alter ego, Summer Smith. Then, African-American teen hero Monica Jim (known as Animalia) asks for Faith’s help in dealing with literal ghosts. The two seek out paranormal scientist Doctor Mirage. When the ghosts whisk Monica off to the Deadside, Faith and Doctor Mirage follow her into the spectral realm, which is waaay creepier than any of them expected, culminating in a place where lost dreams pose a very real threat. The characters have established history, but, as with most serial comic books, there’s enough backstory to acquaint new readers with the stakes. At heart, Faith is a fangirl of many geekdom realms, real and world-specific, who banters like a pro. She’s also large-bodied, a fact that’s never critical to the narrative and thankfully never gets downplayed in the art. The illustrations are on par with any major comics label—detailed and dynamic with high color variations—and feature particularly expressive faces.

For readers who are die-hard fans of superheroes, Faith is like the best self-insert fanfic while still being a totally original character