Grave Lilies #1

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artist: George Kambadais

Publisher: Z2 Comics

Five girls find themselves wandering about with no clues to their history. They know who they are, and they think they know their lives, but it all seems rather vague. Not to mention, they have strange abilities that they never knew they had up until now. Perhaps it has something to do with the also strangely timed explosion revealing lab pods with each girls’ name on them…

As far as indie titles goes, Grave Lilies has the makings of a cult hit. It’s on the mark for a veritably entertaining series with its intriguing story, snappy dialogue, and pleasant art.

Bunn strongly sets the pace of the first issue, giving the reader enough of the plot to explain what’s happening so the reader isn’t left uninterested and uninformed, merely hoping that there’s a payoff in future issues but also manages not to give too much away so that the story would seem predictable and readers have no reason to come back. It’s a fine balance between the two that Bunn has managed to tightrope across. Not to mention there’s a heck of a lot of payoff for readers to get a little something from the first issue.

What really stands out so far is the humour easily woven throughout the issue. The dialogue itself is incredibly natural and what one expects when talking among friends. The casual nature of the dialogue makes an easy segue into sarcasm, and humour of a general sassy nature (one of the characters is even called Agent Sasser, if that isn’t an indicator of what to expect, and boy is the name fitting). This type of humour is easy to understand because it’s natural to most of us, and is always funny when done properly, which in the case of Grave Lilies, it has been achieved.

Not every character is a sasser though (thankfully), and each character is clearly defined with a distinct personality that matches their newfound ability. There is even a fun page that outlines who these mysterious girls are and what roles they’ll be playing as the story progresses.

To complement the easy-going and natural flow of the dialogue, the art is more simplistic as well. It’s a fun, cute, little cartoony style that doesn’t over complicate the overall ambiance of the issue. Kambadais puts plenty of flair to each character though making them incredibly unique and distinct from one another (as they should be, since the focus seems to be on the girls and their unique-ness) but doesn’t boggle down with heavy lines and overly busy backgrounds. The colours as well are simple washes of colour, highlighting to differentiate when needed but otherwise simple and easy to follow along to.

Everything about this series so far seems so nuanced and that’s where it’s magic lies. The natural dialogue and seamless art make it such an easy read. One doesn’t get caught up in trying to make sense of everything, what’s important is there on the page, and readers can sit back and just enjoy themselves as they read.