Wayward #6 *SPOILERS*

[Energist]

First off, I read Wayward issues #1-5 last night all in a row, and I want to say how much better it all read in one sitting. Not to say I wasn't enjoying the series already as a month-to-month read, because I was, but I almost envy the folks who will be reading it first in trade.

Okay, with that out of the way, #6 takes a dramatic turn away from Rori Lane and her adventures to focus on series' newcomer Ohara Emi, who we met back in issue #1 but didn't realize it at the time. Emi is your typical Japanese girl living the typical Japanese girl's life with everything already planned out in front of her. Understandably, she's not all that happy about her lot, but what can you do?

As we're taken through the monotony of Emi's daily life, we learn that it's been three months since Rori and Shirai have disappeared, and the rumor at the school is that the two teens fell in love and blew up Rori's apartment complex to be together. The thought of it intrigues Emi, but also inexplicably unnerves her. This leads to a series of strange events circling the girl over the next couple of days, including various melting items and a dream (or was it...?) involving Rori visiting Emi's house, and eventually culminates in two kitsune spirits (calling themselves "foxfires") giving chase. Emi blindly flees, giving us a better glimpse of her apparent powers, before she soon finds herself in a junkyard, wherein Ayane and Nikaido come to her (violent) rescue.

Later that night in Shinjuku, an unknown "messenger" pays a visit to what is presumably a spider-demon-woman of some sort. How she will factor into the story, however, remains to be seen, because that's where this month's story draws to a close.

I enjoyed this issue a lot, partially because I was fresh off of my reread of the series last night, I'm sure. Still, it moves right along, something I've liked about Wayward since the beginning. On a slightly more personal note, though, Emi's life in particular spoke especially well to me, as I've fallen into a bit of a rut myself over the past couple of years. Very clever, too, how this wasn't truly Emi's first appearance. In retrospect, it's quite obvious in the first issue that her eventual introduction was planned from the start. The art is simply too deliberate.

And speaking of the art, it remains a highlight of the series. A lot of the comic books I read these days hinge on the quality of the writing almost exclusively, but I can honestly say that's not the case here. Cummings and Bonvillain are as important to this title as Zub is, and I imagine in the minds of a lot of readers, they're perhaps even more important. It's disappointing to have to occasionally wait three months for a new issue, granted, but for the consistency of this level of detail, I'll happily do it. Cummings is great at his craft, capturing poses, expressions, backgrounds (especially his backgrounds), and even some mock manga panels in this issue just perfectly. Likewise, Bonvillain's colors are equally phenomenal, enhancing Cummings's linework without ever oversaturating it. As far as colorists go, she's right up there with Matt Hollingsworth in my book.

Finally, another interesting back-up from Zack Davisson, although I'm pretty well-versed in more traditional Japanese customs and history, so it wasn't as insightful for me as his past, more supernaturally themed entries have been. Still, though, it's a great feature, and makes the experience that much more fulfilling.

All in all, another great issue in my estimation. Wayward remains one of the top books I'm currently reading. If you're an old reader who's sitting on the fence after the first arc, I'd recommend checking #6 out before completely throwing in the towel. The new direction does a good job of shaking things up a bit and building some fresh intrigue quickly. And if you're a new reader, then this is obviously a great jumping-on point, because if you like what you read here, the trade is also available today for you to get all caught up.

[Sans Simian]

and a dream (or was it...?)

I don't think it was a dream at all. We see the melted window glass (which was a very excellent piece of artwork). So at the very least, Emi got up in the night and laid her hand on the glass while dreaming of Rori (which would make sense from her daydreaming or her at school earlier). But when she's running away from the foxes, she runs right to the junkyard which is being used now as a base of operations for the Scooby Gang now. I think that Rori (wherever and whoever she is now) guided Emi there on purpose (since Rori's powers are being able to see the way around, after all).

I think a good way to tell if I'm correct or not is to see how someone else discovers their powers, and if Rori shows to them as well.

Spider Lady was really well done. I didn't see the spiders at first, and I was trying to figure out if we had seen her before. Then I saw the spiders coming down (almost like rain!) and I was like, "Oh, I get it. She's another boss-level person. Okay."

Such a good book, and I'm glad we're back it seems to a monthly release schedule.

[InformationGeek]

Well, the issue was certainly better than #5, I'll give that. Still, even after all this time, I feel Wayward is a series that is half-baked. I mean in the sense that there is good here and points that I do like about the series, but I feel it needs a bit more work done on it before it can truly be great. It needs to desperately work on its side characters, the dialogue and narration is still a bit stiff in areas, the pacing still needs a lot of work done to it, and the Japanese culture and mythology should be used a bit better. So far, it feels superficial and not all that truly significant to the story as a whole. It feels like you can substitute a lot of these things for other cultures' creatures and myths.

#6 feels a little bit better, but still has a lot of these issues. While Emi is a good and well-introduced character, I rather the series focus on the characters it already has and focus more developing them. I still don't feel like I know a single thing about this kid with glasses personality and power-wise. It honestly hard to really recommend this series, since I've read so many comics and manga with similar ideas and concepts that are just executed better. I'll keep reading, but I really feel this comic needs more work on its writing and execution.


Also, for those curious, spider lady is most likely based on a Jorōgumo.

[Energist]

I don't think it was a dream at all. We see the melted window glass (which was a very excellent piece of artwork). So at the very least, Emi got up in the night and laid her hand on the glass while dreaming of Rori (which would make sense from her daydreaming or her at school earlier). But when she's running away from the foxes, she runs right to the junkyard which is being used now as a base of operations for the Scooby Gang now. I think that Rori (wherever and whoever she is now) guided Emi there on purpose (since Rori's powers are being able to see the way around, after all).

Yeah, I think you're right: definitely at least somewhat real, if not altogether so. I was just trying to be as cryptic in my review as the comic book originally presented the situation. Sorry about that.

Well, the issue was certainly better than #5, I'll give that. Still, even after all this time, I feel Wayward is a series that is half-baked. I mean in the sense that there is good here and points that I do like about the series, but I feel it needs a bit more work done on it before it can truly be great. It needs to desperately work on its side characters, the dialogue and narration is still a bit stiff in areas, the pacing still needs a lot of work done to it, and the Japanese culture and mythology should be used a bit better. So far, it feels superficial and not all that truly significant to the story as a whole. It feels like you can substitute a lot of these things for other cultures' creatures and myths.

Glad you liked this issue better than the last. I remember you were pretty critical of #5.

It's funny that you mention the Japanese mysticism being underplayed, though, because I ran into a poster on another board a few months ago who said he thought Zub was trying too hard to pander the Japanophile crowd. I actually debated with him that I felt it was very subtle, and arguably too mundane. So it sounds like your view is closer to my own than the other critic's, although I personally think Zub is doing a great balancing act.

I do share some of your other criticisms, however, particularly with the pacing. While I am glad that it's moving along at a nice clip, I too would like to see a bit more focus on some of the characters before the cast expands any further. I think we'll get that with this arc, though. Now that the cast is split up, I can see Zub spending a little time with each group for the next few issues, which should give him a better chance to focus in on one or two of them every month. Hopefully, anyway.

[Ragdoll]

I loved it. The focus on a new character was an interesting change. As always, the art and unique style makes up for the sometimes weak plot.