ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Rain,’ Issue #1

Rain #1 is published by Image Comics, written by Joe Hill, adapted for comics by David M. Booher, art by Zoe Thorogood, colors by Chris O’halloran, and letters by Shawn Lee. Honeysuckle was an average woman having an unassuming day. She was killing time waiting for the love of her life to show up so they could move in together. But this day will be unlike any other. And its consequences to Honeysuckle and the world will be staggering.

One of the best ways to build up to a tragic moment is to give the audience all the foreknowledge that the event is coming while delivering the moment in such an unexpected and brutal fashion that the warning does nothing to alleviate the tragedy. Rain #1 takes just such an approach.

The entirety of this first issue introduces the reader to the main character’s world and the moments leading up to the issue’s tragic finale. We learn about her neighbors, past, and feelings about her girlfriend and soon-to-be roommate Yolanda. Throughout Honeysuckle’s running monologue to the reader, there is a chilling stiffness to the character’s voice. Everything that gets said and the way the information is delivered comes across like it is coming from someone who is still struggling to process the trauma that occurs at the end of the book. The pain is even more pronounced as it contrasts with the happy and pleasant young woman the story’s early moments introduce the reader to.

When Rain #1 reaches its final moments, the monologue’s tone becomes utterly understandable to the reader. As the scene plays out, the reader is forced to standby as Honeysuckle sees her world crumble just a few feet away, yet for all intent and purposes, it might as well be miles. It is the sort of horror that I can’t possibly imagine. To be so close and yet so powerless.

While the story’s use of tone in Honeysuckle’s monologue goes a long way to establishing this heartbreaking horror, one cannot undersell Thorogood’s art. The moment is brought to life with a potent blend of emotion and visual brutality. In addition, the graphic nature of the scene is allowed to deliver the anguish and pain the event causes while never crossing the line into being gratuitous.

The colors used in Rain #1 further help reinforce the book’s tone. The opening scenes more muted look helps the world reflect the flatness of Honeysuckle’s monologue. It feels like the world is being presented how the protagonist’s mind remembers it being through the lens of recent trauma. As the world crashes around her in the book’s closing scene, so too does the color palette plunge into darker hues as it helps to bring the moment home.

The lettering throughout the story brings the book’s voice to the reader well. I appreciated the choice to go without borders on the dialogue boxes as it helps them blend in with the feel of the book’s art.

When all is said and done, Rain #1 delivers what it sets out to. It draws the reader in and proceeds to deliver a strong knockout blow that lands hard, despite the reader being given every warning that it is on the way.

Rain #1 is available on January 11th, wherever comics are sold.