Rick Remender is known for long-form comic stories that can take several issues to fully reveal, such as in the case of Napalm Lullaby. Set in a sci-fi future, two children named Sam and Sarah have superpowers, but they live under the control of a cult-like government. They discovered that their father was a god built around a cult and had to stop it. It’s a scary future, and it’s all too easy to see how our world has changed towards such an absolutely bleak future.
Fast forward several years, and the brothers discover the truth about their father, the great leader, but trauma and quick thinking have expanded their entire reality. In the last issue, Sam finds himself trapped in augmented reality due to his sister Sara. Her death may be the only answer, but as Napalm Lullaby #8 proves, he needs to wake up enough to do something about it.
Napalm Lullaby #8 begins with Sam in a dingy office, only to discover the Blade Runner-esque outdoors and a craving for sweets. The caption is in Sarah’s voice and details how her powers have made her an outcast. They detail how to defeat the heretics and seem to fly like real thoughts. It’s hard to pin down her, but they read in a kind of realistic way. Soon, Sam begins to develop a sweet tooth just before the assassins come after him.
But is this really reality?
Credit: Image
To say this problem is tricky is an understatement. Like in Inception, there are dreams (or reality?!) within dreams. It’s not clear what reality is, but Sam is influenced to escape reality and kill his sister, as was said in the previous issue. By making things hard to pin down, Remender and Bengal make their reality-altering superpowers all too real as they try to figure out who’s at fault and what’s real.
Complicating matters is the Janitor, a character with powers similar to Supergirl, but just as evil. At least I thought she was evil, as determined by her actions in the previous issue. Here, she’s the good guy trying to wake Sam up. It’s unclear whether we should trust Sarah because she’s taking over reality, or whether Sam has a motive for going along and later regretting it. As with any real-life change, you have no idea what’s going on, but the ride is entertaining enough.
Cliffhangers certainly provide more questions than answers, like what all the babies in the glass bulbs are about. Bengal really stretches the imagination with cliffhanger pages that have a great sense of scale, along with outdoor scenes in the first half of this issue. It’s worth checking out, as at one point reality warps and the Bengal background becomes rippling and a massive blood explosion occurs.
Napalm Lullaby #8 is a highly surreal and visually captivating issue that revels in a reality-warping story. While its ambitious storytelling may leave readers unsure, the evocative art, thematic depth, and intriguing mystery make this work appealing to fans of thought-provoking science fiction. It is a great reading material. This is a chaotic yet fascinating chapter in Rick Remender’s long-form storytelling that leaves readers longing for answers but satisfied with the ride.
“Napalm Lullaby” #8 is practically trippy
Napalm Lullaby #8
Napalm Lullaby #8 is a highly surreal and visually captivating issue that revels in a reality-warping story. While its ambitious storytelling may leave readers unsure, the evocative art, thematic depth, and intriguing mystery make this work appealing to fans of thought-provoking science fiction. It is a great reading material. This is a chaotic yet fascinating chapter in Rick Remender’s long-form storytelling that leaves readers longing for answers but satisfied with the ride.
The dream-like, reality-warping story creates an immersive and disorienting experience that draws readers into Sam’s turmoil.
A powerful thematic undercurrent that explores trauma, family ties, and the abuse of power.
Plots can be complex and difficult to follow, leaving readers unsure of what is real and what is imagined.
The emotional stakes are there, but they run the risk of being overshadowed by the over-the-top production.
