cover image Goners Volume 1: We All Fall Down

Goners Volume 1: We All Fall Down

Jacob Semahn and Jorge Corona. Image Comics, $9.99 trade paper (168p) ISBN 978-1-63215-283-1

Following the deaths of their famous occult-busting parents, Josiah and Zoe Latimer get swept up in an over-the-top battle between their parents' remaining associates and the demons who did the parents in. While energetic, the adrenaline here quickens the pace so much that the details sometimes become a blur, rendering some aspects of the book obtuse. Even as the battle scenes are creating a physical mess within the story, they're also shaping a narrative one, diverting from the huge amount of information being dumped on the reader. The narrative structure also subverts clarity, insisting on jumping back and forth in time in pacing jolts that depict the family's long history of protecting the Earth, as well as scenes from Zoe's childhood, all competing for your attention against the present day battles and the parade of characters zipping through the story. Corona's art, while technically impressive, sometimes adds to the clutter of the narrative when it could desperately use some reigning in. A lot of thought has obviously gone into this, but a bit more precision and calm might have benefited the execution of the ideas. (May)