Some thoughts about Fire & Ice #1

Can two superheroines get used to a new life?

Bea and Tora have arrived to Smallville and are trying to make a name for themselves but Bea's desire for fame might be too much for her best friend.

When I heard that both Fire and Ice were getting their own book I was really excited. I love the Justice League International and every character that were part of such team (and is one the reasons why I detested Tom King's The Human Target) and I'm glad that obscure characters like Bea and Tora are getting the spotlight for once. Fortunately, despite of some issues, writer Joanne Starer seems to get a handle of what this book should be about.

First of all, I believe Starer nails the relationship between Bea and Tora. Bea is the extrovert who wants to gather as much attention as possible while Tora is the introvert who is just happy about living a quiet life with her friend, these different personalities obviously clash but it has always been one of the most entertaining aspects of their dynamic, if I had to complaint though, is that I believe that Bea should care more about what Tora thinks and feels considering how much she suffered when the latter was "dead" (not for long of course) but is not enough to ruin what is for the most part enjoyable characterization.

The sense of humour does complement this take. The book has a very comedic feel which is very appropriate for characters who were part of the JLI, this comes a bit at the cost of a not so compelling plot but it gets the job done as a slice of life direction. Some of the side characters are also interesting, being in Smallville, I'm glad that Martha Kent plays a role here and she's just as kind as you would expect. Here comes the issue though, there's a new character that gets REALLY annoying in this book, calling Bea and Tora "Karens" just because they were arguing (and really, the only thing that I think about when I hear the name "Karen" as a complaint is how they changed Power Girl's name because of it when she shouldn't care at all about it based on her personality) while also forcing her personality and appearance everywhere, this is especially bad because she dares to complaint about Fire when she's easily much more obnoxious (and apparently the book wants us to side with her).

Natacha Bustos handles the art and is very pretty with expressive characters, semi-cartoony style and clear storytelling.

Solid beginning, hope some of the issues get fixed in the next one.