Emily and Freaky J Volume One: The Unnaturals is a comic created by Terrell Culbert. Two women with special abilities must carve out their own path in a world that is no stranger to people like them. This is a comic starring strong female characters with a thick story and conflicts all over the place. The first lady we meet is Freaky J, a woman with no memory of her past and the ability to get the real answers out of people, among other things. Emily is someone who has only recently discovered her uniqueness and it isn’t making her life any easier. Both of these ladies are humorous, resourceful, and determined. I wouldn’t say the plot is all over the place but we do see at least three different perspectives as the story goes on. We see how this world accepts and reacts to these powered beings and how the characters’ lives are impacted by this and other developments. The action moments can go from being big and bombastic to up close and bloody. There are times where things can get gory. There are a few sexy moments here. The pacing bounces from fast to slow but it unusually moves at a steady pace. It can get intense at times but it has a “going with the flow” kind of feel. The dialogue is modern with an AAVE influence and very few if any, wordy pages. This is a comic that gives us some above-average worldbuilding with a heavy focus on the characters which ends up giving you people to root for and questions you’ll want answered.

            The art here is drawn in a chunky smooth way with not a lot of extra lines used for detailing. Colors are bold and bright with just about everything standing out. We visit many locations with the main one being Freaky J’s apartment; most of the others aren’t too memorable. The expression level is slightly above decent due to characters sporting stale or the same face from panel to panel. Faces are as full of detail as they could be and some of the female characters sport the same structure just different color eyes and lips, and sometimes the eyebrows. Bodies can also be proportional in one scene and incorrect the next for the same character. Some creatures here look zombie-like but others look like other famed mythical beings. The more supernatural effects look ethereal and rightfully seem out of place in their world. The action scenes are easy to follow and they hit hard. They occasionally get gory and always feature blood. Most of the outfits worn by the women here are skin-tight with the reader being able to tell how cold it is. There are also a few nip slips and naked moments. So yes, there is some sexualization going on.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories starring multiple women(one being black) with super powers and dealing with unknown pasts while featuring supernatural elements this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence and nudity.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I feel like there was a low key insult in there somewhere.”

 

Digital Link: https://www.lastsoncomics.com/product-page/emily-and-freaky-j-digital-copy

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/366150059/emily-and-freaky-j/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 83

Violent Pages: 8, for 10% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 10, for 12% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 4

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 3

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”