Fair warning, this is an adaptation of Joe Hill's short novella Rain (which pops up in his Strange Weather collection) but he doesn't actually script it. Which is fine because David Booher provides a solid script, but sometimes it's always worth a heads up since people love Hill's actual comic scripting so much.
The story revolves a young woman named Honeysuckle Speck who survives an apocalyptic rainfall of crystal spikes that starts in Boulder (and I'm going to take that as a tip of the hat to Hill's dad as a The Stand reference) and spreads across the world. Unfortunately her girlfriend Yolanda and Yolanda's mother died in the first rainfall, prompting Honeysuckle to travel by foot to Denver to deliver the news to Yolanda's father. The story becomes a post-apocalyptic cross country tour full of grief, violence, and homophobia as Honeysuckle encounters the remnants of society.
Booher does a great job of capturing Honeysuckle's voice, and combined with Thorogood's art the series has a really solid tone and atmosphere. I can't really say whether it captures the original novella well since I've never read it, so I'm left wondering if this could have been expanded or if it already expanded upon source material. At times it does feel as if the core plot may be a little rushed, but a 5-issue series is already a lucky get in today's market so we'll take it.
Thorogood's art is a solid chunk of the draw as her unique style and sense of storytelling shine throughout, infusing Honeysuckle and the rest of the cast with plenty of character while also capturing the horror and oddity of this particular apocalypse. Her style feels like a perfect fit for Joe Hill's style of worldbuilding, so it would be great to see her do more projects connected to his work in the future.
The book is a solid package that clocks in at $21.99 for 160 pages. Considering it's 5 issues worth, a nicely designed hardcover, and features a large gallery of all the covers, pin-ups, and variant covers (including store exclusives), you're actually getting plenty of bang for your buck.
If you're looking for an LGBTQ+ character orientated post apocalyptic drama this is worth a look, and if you're a big Joe Hill fan then this will make a nice addition to your collection.
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