Home Free #4: Salt in the Air is a comic written by John Kratky with art by Michelle Lodge and lettering by Eduardo Comucho. A woman’s urgent travel plans are interrupted by a violent protest. This is a story that takes place in our modern world and though the situation is fictional it echoes some real-world sentiments. Our leading lady is Sara, an introspective and cynical woman who is heavily affected by her past but is trying to move past it. She’ll meet a number of interesting people who have very strong view on the situation at hand. The story begins with Sara driving into San Diego before she is forced to continue her journey on foot. She traverses through a city rife with destruction and angry citizens. There is an overarching theme of revolution that is viewed through both a hopeful and a nihilistic lens. The violence here is bloody with a few rough moments but no gore. The pacing is steady but with both fast and slow moments and a serious, stressful tone. The tension is high as things are being destroyed and people are untrustworthy. The dialogue gets deep and you may get lost a few times. Sara likes to with a poetic tilt most times. I only counted one wordy page here. This is a penultimate issue that gives us a closer look at the conflict that has been brewing all series and that will have you wondering where Sara goes from here.
The art here is in black-and-white but has a smooth look not often seen in colorless comics. Occasionally we’ll see black silhouettes on a white background. This story takes place in the city so we have dark streets and buildings of various sizes as our scenery. The environment is filled with destruction from broken windows to debris strewn about to smoke billowing into the sky. There is no primary location as Sara will enter random shops, go down alleys, and walk the street. The backgrounds have around a 50% chance of containing scene elements, if not that then it’s either black or white. The expression level here is above-average from everybody else but Sara. The only emotion Sara really shows is fear or shock, the rest of the cast have more normal responses to these situations. The range is pretty wide with subtle terror and outright rage to quiet remorse. The faces have strong features and good shading so all the looks are clear. The action scenes are either brief or lengthy with decent flow so there is a chance of you getting a bit lost. There are plenty of hard hits and firearm usage with numerous bullet wounds, no gore though.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like introspective stories starring a hardened woman during a violent protest taking place in the inner city with large amounts of violence that this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Violence, death.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“Who has time for agendas when there’s so little at stake?”
Physical Link: https://coffeetimecomix.gumroad.com/l/hf4print
Digital Link: https://coffeetimecomix.gumroad.com/l/hf4digital
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michellelodge/home-free-1-4/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
*
*
*
*
*
Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 32
Violent Pages: 16, for 50% 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 – 4
“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 – 3
“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.”
