Home Free #5: Life is a Breeze is a comic written by John Kratky with art by Michelle Lodge. A pair of women are attempting to push through danger and make it to safety. This is a dramatic comic with strong political elements that stars a cast of only women. The leading lady for this story is Sara, she is a very resourceful woman who has been through a lot and is ultimately just trying to get to the border. She sees things as they are and attempts to provide hope to others. With her is Tessa, a woman who is a member of the “Eyes On Me” organization and who is vehemently hated by many. The story begins right after what took place at the hardware store in the last issue. There are arguments and accusations as these women are attempting to figure out their next move while the threat of danger still looms. This takes place in a San Diego that has been dealing with rioting and destruction. The violence here is physical and there is light blood and light gore. The pacing here is slightly slower than average as due to the overall speaking style. The tone is both serious and desperate with an intensity brought on by danger and difficult discussions. The dialogue here is conversational with plenty of back-and-forth. Sara tends to speak poetically and most characters here get introspective. This is the final issue in a series that touched on many subjects while starring an unflinching and thoughtful lead.

            The art here is black-and-white and smoothly detailed with significant shading. There isn’t much in the way of natural scenery as this takes place deep in the city and half the time it is indoors. The primary location for this story is the hardware store where we last left off and it has rows of shelves but looks eerily empty. Most of the other scenes take place on the streets and sidewalks in different areas of the city with a decent variety. The backgrounds tend to show the surroundings but every now and then it’ll be a solid color usually black or white. The expression level here is slightly above-average as these characters go through a gamut of emotions. The range is from sadness and guilt to anger and rage with rare shots of happiness. The faces are very detailed so every expression is clear with every look bearing weight. There is some physical violence with light blood and gore. The action moments are rare and don’t go more than a page.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like thought-provoking stories with political elements that stars women and features drama then this is for you.

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

PG-13. Subject matter, gore.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“All you’ll get from the ashes of your fire is a stronger enemy.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://kickstarter.com/projects/michellelodge/home-free-life-is-a-breeze/description

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

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 32

Violent Pages: 2, for 6% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

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

 

Violence Level – 2

“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 – 3

“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 – 1

“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 – 1

“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.”