Aurora was created by Sorah Suhng, written by Sorah Suhng and Wes Knipe, with art by Giorgia Sposito and Kate Colors.
Last year at 3 Rivers Comicon – you know, back in pre-COVID-19 times where we weren’t prevented from our regularly scheduled giant nerd gatherings – I had the privilege to interview Sorah Suhng about her (at the time) new Kickstarter, Karnal Confessions. I was immediately smitten with her, her art, and the worlds she could create. Needless to say when I got the notification she had another book launching on Kickstarter I jumped on it without hesitation, yes, even in pandemic times.
While Karnal Confessions is a fantastic story, it’s one meant for mature audiences, but Aurora is a *pardon the pun* different story. While it does deal with some complex themes, it’s still appropriate for younger ages with a good touch of violence but not the gory, oh-god-my-innocent-eyes. Better still, it features a badass all-star cast of women (and one pretty cool guy), with each hero being unique and appealing to the reader in different ways.
The world of Aurora is similar but different to the world we live in. The atom was never split, and instead of a race to develop the best weapons, it was a race to become the country with the strongest superpowered humans. Set in the year 2040, Aurora, tells the story of a new hero, or as they call them in the story, “Keepers”, named Aurora Lyght. As a 6th generation Keeper, Aurora has been selected to represent the United States as its contributed protector of the world. On her first mission, she is faced with the realization that maybe what she thought it meant to be a hero was all wrong. So comes the question, does she conform to the status quo to maintain the peace? Or does she stand her ground in her beliefs?
Aurora tackles a few different themes, but my favorite is probably the human ability and willingness to change the way things are. This is how it has always been, so do we ride the smooth waters or make waves? Is it my place to challenge others’ views? Wouldn’t it be better, easier even, if I just resigned to the way things were? Of course, it’s always easier to leave things be, for peace to be on the surface while trouble brews beneath, but out of sight, out of mind. Sorah Suhng and Wes Knipe tackle this theme and others utilizing their various characters to express different views and values, while also showing that these things don’t need to remain static.
One of my favorite things about Aurora is the art. Giorgia Sposito and Kate Colors do an absolutely fantastic job. I’ve said it many times in other reviews, but I’m a sucker for pretty art. The art is all-around gorgeous, with vibrant colors that made me just sit there flipping back and forth through the pages looking at everything. I am in love with these character and costume designs, Recurve probably being my favorite. To top it off, the detail and dialogue enable you to hear the voices of the characters, tones and all – I never had any doubt about how a character was feeling or whether they were being serious or sarcastic.
Aurora is a great read and worth the delayed COVID-19 wait. Again, this was a Kickstarter (and funded 6 times over!), but keep your fingers crossed for a non-kickstarter edition to follow in the future. And while you wait, check out Sorah’s other works and phenomenal art here.
