Home #1
A young migrant learns the face of America in Home #1 by writer Julio Anta, artist Anna Wieszczyk, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Home is gripping from the word go, highlighting the American immigration system's barbarism and hooking readers immediately.
Mercedes and Juan Gomez make the long trip from Guatemala to the American border to seek asylum. However, on the long road, everything changed- the Trump Administration took over, and asylum was over for migrants coming to the border. Mercedes and Juan are put into internment and separated, with Juan sent to a home in America. On the bus there, his hands start glowing. Juan gets punished for bringing an orange out of the cafeteria and confronted by a guard at the home. His powers activate again, and he's able to escape into the night.
Anta perfectly captures the anxiety and pain of the migrant experience in recent years. It all starts innocently enough- two people seeking asylum from the terrors of their old life, something that every American is taught is quintessentially American. There's a hope to Mercedes and Juan, a feeling that everything is going to be alright. They have family in the States. That hope is dashed and replaced by the terror of the current reality- asylum is a thing of the past. Anta uses a speech from the Attorney General (Jeff Sessions, at the time) to highlight the difference of what's going to happen to them as they travel from Guatemala to the border. It's a reality that the reader already knows about if they've even remotely been paying attention. However, it's still heart-wrenching to see play out right there on the page- the inhumane conditions, the casual way families are separated, and the pain of the whole thing. Anta brings it all to life, warts and all.
It's an unflinching look at an uncomfortable subject, and it's quite affecting. Juan is taken away, and then the hook comes out; he's different. He has powers. Suddenly, all kinds of new questions are brought up. Did the gangs kill his father and target him because of his powers? Where did they come from? Is he the only one? It's all so wonderfully done, the plot points laid out one by one. It all leads to Juan running away, and even more, questions are raised- what's his next move? Go to his aunt? Find his mother? Go home? Where is home? What is home to him and his mother? That's the power of this book- it raises all of these questions and gives the readers something to think about.
There's a cartoonish quality to Wieszczyk's art that genuinely fits the whole thing. Her linework is simple yet powerful, with a fluidity to it that's especially apparent at points of high emotion, almost like those moments of emotion are warping the ones feeling them. It's all very emotive as well and really captures the feeling of every scene. Valenza's coloring brings it all together. It's not a complex palate, but it fits the pencils perfectly.
Home #1 is a powerful read that grabs readers early and never let's go. The cruelty of American immigration is laid bare for all to see, but that's only part of the story. Juan and his powers inform the rest of it, and it will be interesting to see how the book answers all of the questions this first issue poses. Anta and company have created a comic that everyone should read, one with all the potential in the world.