One Nation: Strong Hold #1 // Review
Multiple award-winning and critically acclaimed independent writer Greg Elysee (creator of Is'nana the Were-Spider) is back with a new #1 called "One Nation: Strong Hold." Before I fully dive into that, let me first say my name is Michael, and I am a Black Gay Comic Geek. It almost sounds like I'm confessing something I should be ashamed of. No shame here. I bring that up because most times, as a Black queer comic book lover, more times than not, I find myself having to choose between seeking Black representation in my fantasy, sci-fi, horror, comics, or gay representation. Very rarely can one find both, especially in mainstream comics, but in many Black-centered indie comics as well. Greg Elysee is here to help rewrite that narrative.
The "Tenth" is a group of "Keramats" or metahumans, whose interventionist philanthropy rocks the world's status quo to its foundations. This volume tells the origin of Stronghold, the Tenth's resident muscle, growing up in rural Louisiana while coming to terms with his sexuality and his racist family history." Being a story about a superhero that is also gay, his queerness plays a significant role in the story.
The first thing you notice when you look at the comic book is the art by Antonello Cosentino is gorgeous, and the colors by Carlos Lopez really make this first issue pop. The letter art by Loris Ravina really helps create the whole feel of this entire book. I also appreciate that this title has something I love in all my fantasy tales-"Blood, Sex, Gore, and Magick." While there isn't any gore and technically no magick (yes, with a K), I consider all superheroes magick. Since it's impossible in the realm of reality. However, there's DEFINITELY some blood and DEFINITELY sex. You may or may not even see a little bit of a bulge.
So suffice to say, this comic book series definitely is not for young children, but it is for me. Since this is only the first issue, there's still a lot of the story we don't know. However, It's great to see a story deal with the superheroic aspects as well as the personal. I wish more superhero comics would lean more into the realness of these heroes' lives.
I remember in the early 90s old reruns of the cartoon "Underdog" used to play on Nickelodeon, and his slogan was 'HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!" I feel like that's what Elysee is doing with this latest series. Not only is the lead, Damian, a Black superhero, but he is a BLACK GAY superhero, and jumping further into the REPRESENTATION MATTERS pool, he is a BLACK GAY Man with ALBINISM and a superhero.
Anyway, I am excited to explore more of this world, learn more about the Keramats, find out more about Stronghold's backstory and how he went from being Damian to the superhero Stronghold. You'll want to be more Black Gay Fantasy Goodness. The only slight criticism for the series is a few typos and weirdly phrased sentences. Other than that, this is an enjoyable first issue, and I'm heavily anticipating the next.
