Emma Vieceli

Two words could be used to describe comics in 2015: scandal and rebirth. The scandals happened off the pages at both companies large and small, and the rebirth happened in the comics themselves.

However, this issue, while having great fun with the romantic pairings and the Misfits’ “mucking” antics, also has a dark side. Jerrica is dressed up as Black Swan. This is perhaps the most important costume of the issue. First, it reinforces the anxiety Jerrica feels about being two people and losing sight of who Jerrica is when all around her people clamor for Jem. Thompson presented this same anxiety in a different pop culture homage in the Jem Annual’s Teen Wolf dream. The Black Swan costume carries more horror than Teenwolf’s comedy. That gothic horror foreshadows the dark twists of the ending: Pizzazz’s accident and Techrat’s discovery in the pool house. It ultimately points an arrow straight at the next story arc: “Dark Jem

Jem and the Holograms remains the pastel and neon-colored antidote to overconsumption of gritty, dark comics. Cleanse your palate and soul with this charming series. As the middle issue of the Viral! arc, #8 has a ballad-slow first half and then starts to rock in the second. Delicious twists in the rising action and humorous character interactions create delightful, pulp-comedy fun.

Jem and the Holograms #7 Written by Kelly Thompson Art by Emma Vieceli Colors by M. Victoria Robado Letters by Tom Long Published by IDW Sadly, Jem and the Holograms cover and interior artist plus co-plotter and character and costume designer Sophie Campbell isn’t the artist on Jem #7. She is replaced by British artist …