Reed, M.K. – Pale Fire

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Pale Fire

Hey look, I finally got around to getting the collected version of this story.  Scrollers should note that I had the first issue years ago and, thanks to Poopsheet, eventually got around to getting the collected edition.  And it’s, well, a great story.  This is about a young woman named Alison who’s getting together at a party with a young man who has a reputation as a firebug and a bit of a crazy person (Darren).  Alison, of course, can see none of this, although she seems level-headed about everything else.  More details can be found in my review of the first issue, I’ll just pick up when they finally do get to the party.  Neither of them likes parties so they end up outside, where another boy from the party confronts the firebug and starts a typical drunken fight (typical because no punches are thrown).  They leave the party because Darren has something to show her, and any more information than that would be telling.  Alison’s slow realization of just who she’s dealing with is a revelation, and M.K. manages to pull it off while keeping everybody in the story fully human.  No cartoon villains, no ditzy girls falling for the dangerous guy, no shortcuts at all.  She earns that ending, and at the end of the day it’s just a great comic.  I don’t see this available at her website, but there’s that Poopsheet place I mentioned before, and she does have other things there if you’re curious.  No price, but it’s hefty… $8?