REVIEW: ‘The Resistance,’ Issue #1

The Resistance #1, written by J. Michael Straczynski, illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr, colored by Frank Martin, and lettered by Sal Cipriano, is published by AWA Studios and serves as the flagship title of their Upshot imprint. A deadly retrovirus rages through the Earth, leaving millions dead in its wake. Five percent of the survivors discover that they have developed superhuman abilities while the world’s governments tilt toward totalitarianism.

The Resistance #1 has gained a fair amount of notoriety because it depicts a viral outbreak, much like the current strain of Coronavirus. However, Straczynski and Deodato started developing this comic long before that, and good fiction often holds up a mirror to the world we’re in. In this case, the mirror shows what could happen if things took a turn for the worse and what people might do with the opportunity that chaos would cause.

Straczynski finally returns to writing comics after a four-year hiatus, and it feels like he never left. He is no stranger to writing real-world superhuman stories, having covered similar ground with his creator-owned series Rising Stars and Supreme Power for Marvel. Straczynski builds layers of dread in the first half of the issue as the death toll rises and options begin to thin. When the virus stops, there is still an undercurrent of dread as a new President starts to take extreme measures.

Straczynski’s greatest strength as a writer is that he makes his characters feel human, no matter the genre. A key example is when one of the empowered, Lisa, mourns her late sister. As she relives the events that led to her sister’s death, she is wracked with grief yet has found a newfound sense of purpose. Straczynski manages to put the “human” in superhuman, which keeps the readers invested in these stories.

This book also reunites Straczynski and Deodato after a two-year run on The Amazing Spider-Man. Deodato had already started to strike out into creator-owned territory Berserker Unbound; The Resistance #1 continues his penchant for ultra-realistic, gorgeous artwork. Characters’ faces are twisted in rage or rapturous with joy. The scene with Lisa is a standout; as each panel pushes in on her, you see the tears streaming down her face. Some characters also bear a striking resemblance to real-life people. The new President, for example, looks an awful lot like actor Ed Harris.

Perhaps the best thing about The Resistance #1 is that even though it is meant to be the foundation of a new shared universe, it stands on its own as a story. Most attempts to launch a shared universe are far too focused on the setup and not the characters; it’s the latter that keeps the audience invested, and thankfully Straczynski and Deodato remember that.

The Resistance #1 is a timely, terrifying new beginning to AWA Studios’ comic universe and marks J. Michael Straczynski’s return to comics. With a spin-off series, Moths, planned for release later this year, I hope to see more of this world and its superpowered antagonists, as well as its creators.

The Resistance #1 will be available now wherever comics are sold.