Writer: E. Lockhart / Penciller: Manuel Preitano / Colour Artist: Gabby Metzler / Letterer: ALW's Troy Peteri / DC Comics Young Adults
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20th October 2021 (Released: 7th September 2021)
The Pitch: Sixteen-year-old Willow Zimmerman has something to say. When she’s not on the streets advocating for her community, she’s volunteering at the local pet shelter. She seeks to help all those in need, even the stray dog she’s named Lebowitz that follows her around. But as much as she does for the world around her, she struggles closer to home—taking care of her mother, recently diagnosed with cancer. Her job as an adjunct professor of Jewish studies does not provide adequate health insurance—and Willow can see that time is running out. When in desperation she reconnects with her estranged “uncle” Edward, he opens the door to an easier life. Through simple jobs, such as hosting his private poker nights with Gotham City’s elites, she is able to keep her family afloat—and afford critical medical treatments for her mother.
One of the great things about DC's Graphic Novel line for Young Adults is the way that it poses complex moral problems for younger minds and actually attempts to resolve them, showing both sides of the argument. In Whistle, we have a problem that we hope no child or teen should have to face: becoming the primary breadwinner via illegal means to fund the healthcare of an ill parent and whether or not it is right to do bad things for good reasons. Hell, that's a problem I'd hate to face and I'm 46. Throughout the book, Willow becomes a character that younger readers can hopefully identify with and aspire to be like. She is both an activist, and flawed. Lonely, yet sociable. She and her story encompass the myriad of contradictions at teens are and feel. Even as she breaks the rules and chooses (ostensibly) a life of crime, she has pure motivations at heart that spring from a place of love rather than material greed. Add in an entirely believable subplot centred around Willow falling in love for the first time and you've got all the right pieces to make a perfect, teen-friendly story that your kids will love.
FAMILIAR CHARACTERS ARE REBORN, THEIR SINISTER TRAITS GIVEN NEW FORMS
Since older, more entrenched fans also need something to latch onto (including me), I'm pleased to say that Whistle passes that test with flying colours. It gives us a new version of Gotham to get lost in. Familiar characters are reborn, their sinister traits given new forms, making them sympathetic, but still ultimately on the wrong side of the argument. They're driven alternately by the need to send a ruthless message to mankind in the face of its own destruction and good old fashioned greed. You find yourself in agreement with Pamela Isley whilst recoiling from the drastic ways she makes her point. She's not the only character given a re-invention here but to say too much might reveal twists and I want you to have some surprises. One thing I was certainly surprised by was a late turn involving Willow and her evolution into a hero. Again, the problem is that by revealing exactly what happens, I'll take away the element of surprise for you. So I'm just going to not do that. You'll have to get the book and find out yourself.
Preitano creates a gorgeous look. It's an incredibly fine-lined and real
Lockhart writes with a decompressed, compassionate voice embodied in characters who both listen as well as speak, something that's going to be increasingly important for future generations if not ours, now. Since this is a longer-form piece of work than single issues might allow, Lockhart indulges a more novelistic pace that works to the reader's benefit. The ide ideas and motivations become more believable because they have time to breathe. Preitano, an artist I've not encountered before but who has already drawn DC's Oracle Code in this same line of YA books, creates a gorgeous look. It's incredibly fine-lined and real. The people look like people, rather than representations of them. The re-invention of the villains is well-thought-out and created. His images are detailed and since most of the book is in daylight, you get the sense that he's pouring it all out on the page, given relatively few night scenes to hide behind. On a side note, there is little mention of Gotham's night-time protector, which is refreshing, even for Bat-Stan like me. Metzler's colours create beautiful sunlight, striking the faces and structures of Gotham in that photogenic way you only see in cities, yet struggle to capture on your Instagram. The palette is seemingly limited and yet provides you with all the mood you need. Peteri get's Lockhart's teen dialogue coming across wonderfully, softening or punching up the type perfectly in time with the action and intent. This is one of the better Gotham books out there and a triumph for DC's YA Line. If I didn’t already own a copy I’d be buying one right now!
Buy DC Comics here and support The Comic Crush. You can buy Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero at Gosh Comics or from bookshop.org.
