Conway and Garcia-Lopez definitely get an “A” for effort. They both are very deliberate on Cinder and Ashe but Conway tells the story in alternating first person narration and it just isn’t going to work with this kind of thing.
As awful as the events in this issue—and there are two or three really rough moments—first person narration isn’t going to work. Conway’s characters don’t react naturally to the visuals. There are flashbacks, usually transitioned from visual cues, but they’re expository. It’s never believable the characters think back to informative scenes in their pasts when events occur. There’s one moment where he does it just in narration and it works a lot better.
The narration also blocks the reader from really getting to know the characters—we only get to see what Conway wants us to see.
Still, he’s doing something very earnestly. Good intentions help here.
