Home #2
Juan finds safety but loses so much more in Home #2, by writer Julio Anta, artist Anna Wieszczyk, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Hassah Otsmane-Elhaou. Home is a very special comic, and this issue is no different, adding to the overall story wonderfully.
This issue is rather simple but no less powerful for it- Juan eludes capture and makes his way through the wilderness. Back at the ICE detention center, his mother is sent to be deported. Juan finds his way to a mall and gets in touch with his aunt, who comes and gets him. After explaining how he escaped to her, she tells Juan about his father and how he had powers and then gives him the bad news- his mother has been deported.
Home hits all the feels, and it's done brilliantly. For anyone who doesn't know the tyrannies of the American immigration system, this issue brings them to stark light. For example, Mercedes getting deported. It seems like an innocent way to deal with an illegal immigrant- just send them back to their country- but then one remembers that they aren't sending her son with her. Then one remembers that is US policy, separating parents from children, and it all comes back. Elsewhere in the book, while at the mall, Juan thinks that two ICE agents are after him, but they grab something else, and they're just sickeningly happy about the whole thing. IT's a terrible moment that both ramps up the scene's tension expertly and gives a reminder that ICE is not anyone's friend and the people working for it actually enjoy their jobs of persecuting the innocent.
Anta is doing some powerful stuff in this book and not just with his portrayal of the undocumented immigrant experience. He perfectly captures Juan's fear and confusion while also building a great story. In the book, Juan remembers overhearing a conversation between his mother and grandmother in Guatemala, where his grandmother tells her that they have to leave because of the gangs. It's a great moment on more than one level- it shows that Juan, a child, knows what's going on but also a common reason for people to leave Central America and come to America- for their own safety. It all adds up, and it works brilliantly.
None of it would work without Wieszczyk's expressive art. She's able to capture the emotion in Anta's script brilliantly. Even though her style has a cartoonish look to it, there's something about the way she captures the emotions, the exaggerated nature of her style really making the whole thing hit home that much more. It's not a style that seems like it would work for this kind of book, but it's actually quite incredible.
Home #2 continue its breakdown of the terrors of the American immigration system. Anta's script does a fantastic job of both being politically charged and telling a compelling, emotional story. The book works on multiple levels, and it's a joy to read, even if it does jerk the heartstrings. Wieszczyk's art doesn't seem like it should work with the subject matter, but it does brilliantly, really capturing the feeling of the whole thing. Home is a fantastic book, and this issue keeps that up.
