Monarch #1 Review: Captivating Devastation

Monarch #1 feels tailor-made to disarm you. The title alone gets the job done. The average reader will assume it's something butterfly-related, while veteran comic readers might think it's a Venture Bros. tie-in or reference to that awful Armageddon 2001 DC event from the 90s. (I was guilty of the latter until I realized this was an Image Comics joint). But flip open to the first page and you see a man's face getting blasted off at its cheekbones by one of a dozen lasers crashing down from the sky. 

It then tries to lull you back into that false sense of security, giving a slice-of-life story about kids growing up in Compton. Our hero, Travon, is living in a foster home but has the love of his guardian, god sister, neighbors, girlfriend (Daysha), and best friend (Todd) to keep him going even as a fellow foster kid Zion tries to jump him on his way to school. The soft yellows, reds, pinks and blues from artist Alex Lins and colorist Luis Nct bring a sense of comfort to every panel, as though the notoriously harsh portion of Los Angeles County is a little bit inviting. The only thing that shakes you out of this serene landscape is the rainbow-colored cloud mysteriously hanging overhead, and it's not long before the terror comes roaring back. 

This slice-of-life piece is immediately interrupted halfway through the comic by the alien invasion first hinted at in the opening pages. Tendril-based mechanical creatures suddenly arrive to wipe out everything in sight, and the comic never once tries to steer away from the graphic death that suddenly surrounds these pre-teens. 

Where Rodney Barnes' writing truly shines with this issue is in the narration, which keeps shifting to different characters as the story progresses. Through that, we get a better sense of a group's reaction to the sudden tragedy, from denial of reality to numbness to introspection. We even get a brief glimpse into the bully's (Zion) perspective and the unrelenting hate he carries in his heart even as the world around him crumbles. 

Monarch #1 is one gut punch after another, but the characters it manages to create amidst the devastating chaos are already captivating. This is definitely one series to keep an eye on. 

Published by Image Comics

On February 7, 2023

Written by Rodney Barnes

Art by Alex Lins

Colors by Luis Nct

Letters by Marshall Dillon

Cover by Alex Lins and Luis Nct