Elena Abbott may have given up investigative reporting, but the Umbra is still very much a part of her life. Does she still have what it takes to keep it at bay? Find out in Abbott 1979 #1 from BOOM! Studios.
ABBOTT 1979 #1
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Sami Kivelä
Colorist: Dan Jackson
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Ramiro Portnoy
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 4, 2023
Previously in Abbott: Tabloid reporter Elena Abbott defeated the occult forces responsible for her husband’s death. But that is not the end of the Umbra. Detroit is not only suffering politically, but supernaturally. Can Abbott reach deep insider herself and continue the battle?
MAKING A LIVING
Abbott 1979 #1 opens in Detroit in 1979, just before the Reagan years. Elena Abbott is in the back of a church for the funeral of a news photographer. Some of the other attendees spot her. She has fallen on hard times. Once an investigative reporter, now she is writing theater reviews for a weekly free paper. One of her old colleagues, Fred, takes her out for a drink and presses her for more, but she keeps to herself. They commiserate over the decline of newspapers and the rise of television news. But when they part, Fred tells Elena that a friend of his in television has been trying to reach her for a job.
Abbott returns home to a small apartment and pours herself a drink. She makes a call to a wealthy part of town, to Amelia. Amelia recognizes her immediately and remembers it is Elena’s birthday. Amelia tells her it has been six years, and she does not want to see her again. Then Abbott says something interesting. She denies that Amelia ever said that and claims it was the Umbra. Amelia hangs up, but we see her face surrounded by a wispy shadow. I appreciate this opening. I have not read any of Abbott before, but already I feel like I understand part of the back story.
Elena realizes the Umbra has her friend, and that Fred’s instincts are right – it has the whole country. Her phone rings. It is not Amelia; it is her brother Elmer. He wants some money, which she just does not have right now. She hangs up on him.
Exhausted, she falls asleep, and in her sleep, the Umbra comes for her. She wakes up and with a flash of light, she sends it away from her. The next morning, despite not being rested, she visits the television station and sets up an interview.
THE HIDDEN DARKNESS
I like the atmosphere of the art in Abbott 1979 #1. Right from the start, we get a feeling of grim weariness. I think this fits Elena Abbott herself, but it also extends to the city surrounding her. Abbott looks like she has not been sleeping well. Her clothes are clean but rumpled. She joins Fred for that drink but says as little as she can about why she has chosen to work the beat she is on. We can tell that there is a story in what she is not saying to anyone. This is an interesting juxtaposition against the framework of television making “news” stories out of entertainment.
Contrasts are central to this story, and we see another one starkly in Abbott’s conversation with Amelia. Abbott’s apartment is small and spare. The walls are run down, and the furniture has seen better days. In comparison, Amelia is living in spacious luxury. Her clothes are elegant and her hair is immaculate. Even her telephone is fancy. But when she hangs up, we see her face shadowed in strong contrast by the Venetian blinds, and her eyes wreathed by the smoky shadow of the Umbra.
BOTTOM LINE: AN IMPRESSIVE OPENING
For the opening of the story, Abbott 1979 #1 is gripping and compelling. As soon as we see Elena Abbott, we want to know more about her.
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Abbott 1979 #1
Elena Abbott has been keeping a low profile, but the Umbra will not let her go.
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By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.