Travon has not had an easy life, but he tries to make the best of it. He still must deal with a gang that is hunting him, but how will things change when aliens invade Earth? Find out in Monarch #1 from Image Comics!
MONARCH #1
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Alex Lins
Colorist: Luis Nct
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Editor: Greg Tumbarello
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 8, 2023
Previously in Monarch: Life in Compton is not easy for Travon. He is an orphan and is trying to do his best, but Zion and his gang have it in for him and every day he needs to try to avoid them. Fortunately, he has friends. But everything changed the day of the alien invasion…
THE DAY EVERYTHING CHANGED
Monarch #1 opens with a school under attack. A young Black girl running into the school thinks this is a virtual reality game, but it is all too real. Her classmates are getting killed. Meanwhile, Travon thinks that it was stupid for us to feel that we were all alone in the universe. He lives in Compton. He knows something about the frailty of life and how those who have power look down on the other around them.
Travon wakes up. It is a normal school morning, except for the rainbow cloud that has settled over the city. His foster sister, Marli, is fascinated by it and thinks it means space people. His foster mother, Miss Wilamae worries about him and about Zion. When Travon leaves for school, a neighbor warns him that Zion is in the area.
Zion chases him to school. For three years this has been going on. They once were friends. They once were both fostered by Miss Wilamae. Travon races, gets to school, and his friend Daysha lets him in and locks the gate. Zion dropped out and is not allowed on the school grounds. Trayvon asks his Daysha if she wants to skip biology to check out the rainbow cloud. Another of Trayvon’s friends, Todd, asks if he wants to check out the cloud at lunchtime. Little do they know what is in store for them.
We learn a little more about Travon’s conflict with Zion. Travon fit in at Miss Wilamae’s; Zion got in her face and she kicked him out. He has blamed Travon ever since. Then we see that Zion has sneaked onto the school grounds. He feels that he has been born into a world that hates him. Everything that happens reminds him that he is worthless. He is lashing out at the world, and he focuses on Travon. He gets close to him and starts hitting him.
Travon’s life has not been easy either. He has been hurting a long time, but he deals with his pain differently, and sees some good in the world. But today the beating stops when something comes out of the rainbow cloud. Crablike alien creatures swarm the area, killing and wounding as they go. Zion draws a gun and shoots at them. He loses an arm.
Three weeks later, Travon, Todd, and Daysha are still alive and living in the school, although they are running out of food. Travon decides to venture out. The alien ship is near Miss Wilamae’s house. He misses his family and wonders what happened to them. Then Zion finds him. Despite the aliens being on the scene, he still has it in for Travon.
DOWN TO EARTH
The art of Monarch #1 is solid and gritty. It can be bloody in spots, and it is up front about letting us know that the alien attack is serious. We do see bodies and blood and kids in terror. It is interesting setting this in Compton with a young man who faces gang violence daily. I think it is a way to make a connection between life where sometimes people have very little, so sometimes what matters to them is their personal power or perceived personal status. And those who grow up at the hands of an impersonal system may feel very powerless indeed. The alien invasion parallels this on a broader scale. They are just as impersonal, but they have the power to take down anyone.
I like that we see the last little bit of normalcy before the aliens show themselves. Their ship is concealed in a rainbow cloud. The local weatherman makes light of it. Travon’s neighbors go out and look at it, as people would when seeing something so unusual. Miss Wilamae does not have a fancy house, but she takes care of the kids and watches out for them. She worries about Travon but respects him and his outlook. He tries to be careful. He also knows what his life is right now and that he needs to get through it one day at a time.
BOTTOM LINE: TRYING TO DO ONE’S BEST
Monarch #1 is off to a great start. I like that some of the young people at the center of the story are Black, and their lives give us the framework for it. The aliens are terrifying, all the more because they have not communicated with anyone at all, so they feel detached and unpredictable.
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Monarch #1
Travon goes from being hunted by a gang to hiding from aliens.
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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.