Review: TOMORROW JONES #1

This Review Originally Ran on Comics Bulletin

Tomorrow Jones #1

(Brian Daniel/Johan Manadin)

Arcana

Tomorrow Jones #1 is as spunky as all get out. This tale of blemish free teenage angst and superheroics is perfectly pleasing and easily accessible  -- sort of the "Call Me, Maybe" of comics. It is pleasant pabulum designed neither to offend nor to challenge, rather it is created to make you smile as you settle into the warm embrace of its familiarity. 

Which is perfectly fine if that’s what you are looking for.

The story is pretty straightforward. Tomorrow Jones is a fourteen-year-old girl who comes from a family of superheroes -- Mom is a super powered alien, Dad is the Crystal Guardian, and brother Zane is the Crystal Scout. Tomorrow, though… Tomorrow just wants to be left alone to be a normal teenager, to crush on boys and pass her History class. She certainly doesn’t want to wear tight spandex and have a secret identity. Oh sure, she’s going to be a super hero alright, but it’s going to be on her terms, and ain’t nobody going to tell her what to do or who to be.

Brian Daniel has put together a nice little coming-of-age comic that is all about a young girl’s ability to empower herself -- like Carly Mae Jepsen has. The first issue of Tomorrow Jones raises those After-School Special type questions of identity, family expectations, peer pressure, and bullying. It’s an Oscar Meyer Bologna and Kraft American Cheese sandwich on Wonder Bread slathered thick with Miracle Whip. It’s certainly formulaic, but Daniel follows the formula well and creates a very palatable, albeit staid, comic, easy to digest, leaving your farts smelling like an ocean breeze.

Tomorrow Jones #1 may be the perfect plucky comic to get for your tween as she transitions from last year’s sparkly vampires to the new hotness of superheroes.  It’s that kind of book,which is perfectly fine if that’s what you are looking for.