Written by: Matt Hawkins
Art by: Linda Sejic
Publisher: Image
Wildfire is a comic that is so firmly rooted in science, it could be considered educational reading. Matt Hawkins, who is billed as a co-creator with artist Linda Sejic, says the comic was formed out of an obsession he had with researching genetically modified foods. In his research, Hawkins found that both sides of the argument were exaggerating and making false claims and he decided it was a topic he wanted to explore further.
Wildfire, being a comic rooted in science, is a heavy read. Not just because it contains a disaster in it that feel realistic, but because Hawkins wanted the information he introduced in the comic to be accurate and factual. Many of the ideas in the comic are rather complex, and it takes a lot of exposition to get the ideas across. All of the speech bubbles in this comic are rather large and full of text, so it’s not a comic you can blow through in a short amount of time while still being able to comprehend what’s going on.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; Hawkins works hard to present a balanced case and let readers make decisions on their own, which keeps it from sounding like a propaganda comic. That being said, since the comic is so fact heavy, there are a few plot choices that are really cliché. In order to introduce the argument, the comic begins with a flash forward to news coverage of the disaster, then skips back to a TV debate between two radicals from both sides of the argument where they clearly lay out the GMO debate. The debate is an easy way for them to lay out a lot of information within the first few pages, but it’s a tired choice.
After the introduction, flashes to television anchors keep us updated on the status of the wildfire that the comic gets its name from, and on a character level, the plot stays fresh. There are unexpected solutions to problems, which is what helps keep the debate balanced. In the handful of issues collected in the first volume, characters experience real challenges, but I am not entirely sure they experience much development. The decisions and losses that they are faced with haven’t forced them to change as people or really learn anything substantial, so we get through our first big conflict without feeling like anything was ever at stake, even though an entire metropolis was destroyed.
Linda Sejic’s art is interesting. She’s like the Van Gogh of digital art, all of her brushstrokes are out there for the whole world to see, which is a bold stylistic choice. Her work is detailed, although sometimes the facial expressions on her character are a little off. The full spreads of the destruction in Los Angeles are definitely the most striking pages in the comic.
Because the text is so heavy, Sejic has implanted it in really bold panels to try to make it feel like there is more action happening on the page, when really characters are just talking to each other. Ultimately, the innovative paneling ends up being distracting, but I can see why she made those decisions.
Wildfire isn’t a perfect comic, by any means, but it was an engaging read and I actually felt like I learned something. At the end of the volume, Hawkins has even included a few pages of information of GMOs and resources where you can read the source material. The next volume, due in Fall of 2015, is set to contain a story about how GMOs have affected insect populations.
