Review by Frank Plowright
J. Michael Straczynski seemed to have moved on from projects associated with the world created for The Resistance, so the arrival of U & I came as a surprise. Straczynski’s speciality is extrapolating the effectiveness of super powers in ways not previously seen despite ninety years of superhero comics. In this case it’s the ability to heal rapidly from the most horrific injuries, which is embedded in Wolverine and Deadpool, but less sensationally applied here.
The character seen in Mike Choi’s sample art in the red patterned vest awoke in hospital after a pandemic having developed powers, but seemingly having lost his memory. That sample page also shows the puzzling perception of two versions of reality, a mystery not kept for long, as it’s how the primary character sees the world. He identifies as U, while the I from the title is Isabelle, who we meet attempting to access money from a trust fund withheld from her by unpleasant relatives. They make a couple like no other seen in comics. She’s pragmatic with a social agenda while he reframes everything he hears as a literal war against the forces of darkness.
It’s nice to see a graphic novel with a focus on the dispossessed and what can be done for them, and that Straczynski’s solutions and explanations extend beyond the presence of a superhero. However, it’s not the primary concern, which is the relationship between U and Isabelle, with much time also spent building tension via extensive focus on the activities of gangsters tracking U down.
Choi here moves away from the pseudo-realistic style he used on the associated Moths and instead applies an attractive, but more traditional version of action art, slipping into less confident painting for world as seen by U. Emotional content and feeling is strong, and that transmits, as does the idea of two people with very different uncertainties.
Ultimately U & I is a story about hope for something better, and the different ways people view that. For some it’s abstract, for others it’s about the constant acquisition of wealth. The result is a page-turning thriller with no certainties.
