Like Father, Like Daughter #3 - Short Fuse Media Group

LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER No. 3, August 2016

An infinitely more emotional affair than your average super-hero comic book, Kathryn Calamia’s storyline for Issue Three of “Like Father, Like Daughter” impressively concerns itself with the depressing anxiety a young student can experience when being physically bullied at school, rather than depicting its titular characters’ thwarting yet another diabolically mad villain’s scheme which threatens mankind. For whilst the twenty-page periodical features the most ‘screen time’ Invulnerable and his daughter have so far shared together within this series, it’s highlight is undoubtedly Casey’s ‘heroic intervention’ between her disagreeable boyfriend Jesse and the appallingly battered young Ethan.

Indeed, if any person within this publication’s audience had any doubt as to the feelings of worthless isolation, loneliness, fear and incredible anger being tormented by someone else can cause an individual, then the American author’s superbly-penned scene depicting a tear-stained “poor kid” pulling a pistol on his peers and threatening to shoot himself in the head out of sheer desperation, should certainly put them straight; “Every day you push me. Beat me up for no reason. I tell myself I can handle it, but I can’t anymore. I just want it to stop!” This sequence is tremendously moving, and not only showcases the unacceptable impact upon your health school bullying can have, but also provides Comic Uno’s creation with an opportunity to courageously shine without relying upon the powers she has unintentionally inherited from her dad.

Admittedly, any subsequent scenes following on from such a poignant roller-coaster of a ride are debatably going to feel a little flat, even when they involve “Case” coming “face to face with her father… for the first time in ten years!” Yet the “YouTube personality” still manages to maintain plenty of intrigue as the super-powered pair discover the “second-generation” student’s visions are unique to her, and that Invulnerable has no idea as to how he came to obtain his extraordinary abilities. In fact, Kat’s narrative goes even further to stress that someone out there has been actively ensuring that no digital trace of the costumed crime-fighter’s past exists…  

Setting aside this comic’s persuasive penmanship momentarily, this book must also have proved something of a fun-fest for any science fiction fans out there who spotted the plethora of pencilled nods to “Doctor Who”, “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” in its panels. Undeniably a dialogue-driven edition, Artist Wayne A. Brown still provides plenty of dynamic visuals to entertain its audience during these conversational pieces courtesy of some wonderfully drawn facial expressions, but he also manages to include a plethora of starships, X-Wings and time-travelling machines into his backgrounds from time to time too.

Written & Created by: Kathryn Calamia, Pencils & Inks by: Wayne A. Brown, and Colors by: David Aravena