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Superheroes have long represented the best of humanity, but they’ve never represented all humans — a concept that comics are only just beginning to figure out. Enter Faith Herbert, a.k.a. Zephyr, a superhero who happens to be plus-size.
Faith is a geek, she’s a little bit awkward, and she has the power of telekinesis — the ability to move objects with her mind. She’s also working at a viral news website and has a dowdy civilian alter ego. And through it all, her story becomes an exploration of the gulf between fantasy and reality and what those terms mean when it comes to being a hero.
The debut issue, released in January, was a winning one, as we got a glimpse of Faith’s day-to-day life, her fears, and her romantic daydreams. It really established her as a character we can both root for and laugh with.
But there’s also something sinister — something that involves creepy blonde clones and missing teens — looming.
There are moments when the comic, from writer Jody Houser and artists Francis Portela and Marguerite Sauvage, feels like a modern update of the classic Clark Kent story. But it also manages to find its own voice, and its own dark chords to hit.
