Guest Review: PRIMOS Volume One, from AWA/Upshot

Guest review by Matt Lowder

PRIMOS #1 - #4 by Al Madrigal and Carlos Barberi (AWA Upshot, Feb-June 2022) Matt Lowder's Rating: 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 stars.

Imagine one day a Mayan wizard appears in your room, and after almost knocking off his decorative headdress with a baseball bat because you didn't know any better, he tells you your blood is magic and you can teleport.

Centuries ago, two Mayan brothers constructed a spacecraft that sent them hurtling into outer space. They accidentally returned to Earth in the wrong time, 2022, only to find their culture and civilization destroyed. One of the brothers is super-pissed! He vows revenge and seeks to decimate the planet with intergalactic technology gathered on his travels. To prevent this, the other brother assembles three of the world’s protectors who don't know it yet – all descendants of their bloodline. Now, the fate of the planet lies in the hands of three cousins, Ricky, Javier, and Gina, scattered throughout Central and North America who have never even met.

With a whole lot of Aftershock and AWA Upshot titles, I'm usually fine with them being 4-or-5-issues-and-done ordeals. With this title from AWA, I think they can and should do much, much more, even if it's against their publishing model, and greenlight a permanent every-other-month release for PRIMOS. It's a superhero, mystical, cosmic, sci-fi/fantasy blast, and I love it.

Funny, fresh, sarcastic, hip, and diverse, this is the kind of modern hero comic I think is really lacking right now. It's actually a clever and well-implemented concept, with a quick-moving plot and plenty of personality coming through the Latino characters. 

I'm a big proponent of giving all kinds of stories a fair shake, but I also won't squeal about something if the writing is not there. This author and these characters have Mayan and central American roots, and it's not just a check box the way it is for some publishers in the industry right now. For some novels and comics getting lip-service, the story is of secondary importance to the issues of identity. This publisher, AWA, put forth a relatable, contemporary hero origin story, which I'd love more of. It rocks. It never feels stereotypical, and doesn't overdramatize Ricky, Javier, or Gina's skin color as the most significant parts of their personalities. 

The characters are actually talking about what needs done, and how to save the day. This gives dimension to the world it's building and the future adventures it promises. There are intelligent moments of real history, of white ignorance, and the adversity inherent to people like our heroes in their day-to-day, but the moments never feel artificial. These moments give pause, moments of empathetic realization, and then we're back to a great-paced story with complications and new reveals every issue. Genocide, dead parents, and high stakes are well balanced with funny one-liners, hope, and the promise of rising above.

And I've not gotten into the color, pencils, and inks yet: all incredibly consistent, vibrant, with a great sense of movement, space, and expression.

PRIMOS is the real deal, for any comic reader. It's built by Latino creators who want to give all readers an epic experience. This creative team is capitalizing on the vacancy of this kind of story in the comic space, and have written something truly entertaining while honoring the culture - which ain't easy, I'm sure. 

Sometimes when blogs and newspapers that don't typically cover the "comic arts" do a piece on books like these, it's primarily because they're deemed "important." I comb through hundreds and hundreds of reviews at work constantly, and I can tell you, sometimes the actual quality of the story is glossed over, or worst, it's given a free pass because of its subject matter. But PRIMOS, will surely kick ass for the under 30 crowd. There are some references and zingers that feel like memes, so reader beware. 4.5 out of 5. . . . . . Matt Lowder