Naomi is published by DC Comics under their Wonder Comics imprint. It is written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker, with art by Jamal Campbell.
Finally, after four issues, we have at least an inkling of what Naomi is and where she may have come from. Only an inkling though, and really, it’s barely even that. But it seems like we will start getting some concrete answers soon. We did learn a lot about her adoptive parents and Dee though, which was honestly unexpected, but informative. I mean, it wasn’t just unexpected to get a backstory on them, its also the fact that their whole backstory was actually intertwined in a weird, coincidental and oddly specific circumstantial was. I don’t want to spoil it because it’s a huge chunk of the issue and its super interesting, but also kind of convoluted.
Oddly enough, Naomi is hardly even a focal point of this issue. All of this information does lead in to Naomi’s own history, but at the same time, it kind of has nothing to do with it. Naomi even continually asks her parents “so, is that where I came from?” and they’ll say “well, no, but…” and continue the story. Then suddenly it’s the end and there’s a glowing box that no one knows what is it and we STILL don’t know who or what Naomi is. So, while all of this is interesting and you can clearly tell Bendis and Walker have quite an intricately woven story that is probably going to blow our minds, we’re being taken to it in baby steps. I’m sure once this comic hits its stride (probably next issue), we will see it truly shine, but for now I can’t help but be frustrated at the continual cliff hangers.
While I have my complaints about the story pace, I could stare at Jamal Campbell’s art all day. Seriously, how freaking beautiful is that cover? How gorgeous are those internal pages? A picture is worth 1,000 words and Campbell really makes that statement ring true with how much you get from a single character expression or their body language/gestures. You could take out all the dialogue and probably be able to tell almost exactly what happened and to me that says so much about the talent of an artist.
OVERALL SCORE: 8.5 / 10
I was a bit disappointed, but overall, I enjoyed the issue and the story it told about Naomi’s parents and even Dee – I just hope next issue we get some backstory that’s more relevant to Naomi herself. So make sure you pick up a copy of Naomi #4 from your local comic shop!
Happy reading!
