Written by: Jim Zub
Art by: Steve Cummings
Publisher: Image
I feel compelled to compare Wayward with American Gods, at least on a superficial level. What happens when mythology is forced to endure cultural advancement and technology? Wayward hints at that question while replacing European deities and monsters with Japanese ones.
But that question, important as I believe it will become, is only hinted at. For now, we continue our trek with Rori, who is still deeply confused and stranded in Tokyo. Thankfully, she now has a friend. By the end of Issue 3, she looks to have two more. Something strange is happening, some kind of change, and it’s time to band together—accidentally or not—and face the oncoming…well, I’m not sure what. I hope to find out in Issue 4.
The weakest part of Wayward Issue 3 is that it seems to be following a very well-tread plot. People with random powers? Check. Evil monsters on some kind of conspiracy mission? Check. Band together to figure out what’s going on? Check. I can only assume Issue 4 has some kind of Tokyo saving battle. If not Issue 4, then 5 or 6 or 7. But it all seems to be heading in that direction.
But well-tread paths are worth following again and again if the characters are compelling, and I still feel somewhat enamored with Rori, even if her little speech at the end of Issue 3 felt a bit cliché. And well-tread path or not, I haven’t seen this plotline take place in Tokyo with Japanese-inspired monsters. Perhaps Shonen anime have delivered such tales, but this setting is new to me and I’m enjoying it.
I also can’t help but feel that Wayward is just genre savvy enough to pull all of this off too. There are little blips of internal dialogue from Rori that give me hope. There’s also a nice little twist at the end that makes me think this comic series will veer into a direction I cannot predict, well-tread path or not.
Bring on Issue 4.
