Eisner-winning writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist David Lopez to give us a world where heavy metal daydreams merge with supernatural nightmares in FML #1. When you put together metal, magic and a touch of mayhem you have me hooked.

Riley is a teen that sketches out his heavy metal future with a ballpoint pen between monster movies and band practice. But musical stardom needs to compete with high school, the temper of a former Riot Grrrl mother, the morbid obsessions of a goth sister, and the eccentricities of bandmates that threaten to drive him and everyone around him insane. The balance gets harder after a ritual during a party in Portland’s Forest Park causes him to wake up one day to discover that the creatures, witchcraft, and metal world he’s obsessed with may be a bit closer to home than he preferred.

Genre-busting, apocalyptic odyssey about a group of metal kids who face a medley of bizarre foes and encounters in Portland, Oregon during a worldwide pandemic.

Kelly Sue DeConnick wonderfully creates a tale that intertwines reality with the bizarre. Kelly seamlessly weaves of dual worlds is enhanced by David Lopez’s artwork, which captures each element beautifully while maintaining the sense of Portland’s atmospheric charm. The tale is both thrilling and thought-provoking while also letting our imagination run wild wondering where reality begins and ends.

At the stories core, FML explorers themes such as identity, friendship, and resilience amidst chaos—a reflection on our own pandemic-stricken world. It can be a difficult task these days crafting narratives that weave in the real world experiences we all just lived through and fantastical stories. DeConnick does just that with a sense of ease.

Lopez’s artwork gives us the feeling of a pandemic stricken world along with a sense of magical mayhem that makes for a stunning comic. David’s illustrations pair perfectly with the tale being woven by DeConnick that seamlessly blends together. These two pairing up is exactly what this story needed.

FML #1 stands out as an exhilarating fusion between a teen adventure steeped in the supernatural against real-world challenges faced during unprecedented times like we all just experienced. FML is the type of comic that allows us to escape into fiction while holding onto some real-life worries. Simply put…Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez nailed this one.

FML #1 hits local comic shops on November 6, 2024 from Dark Horse.