Valiant; $3.99

A new arc begins in Livewire #9 with a tidy recap on what has happened so far, including the U.S. government’s fear of psiots and Livewire’s destructive retaliatory actions. Through the past two arcs, she has reached a point of understanding that though she was trying to protect fellow psiots, she hurt innocent people.

Issue 9 picks up with Livewire still searching for Serena Byrne, the leader of the Psiot Safety & Education Program. Because she’s had a change of heart about her actions, Amanda has set limitations on how far she’ll go to achieve her goals. While doing so, she is contacted by John Wright who is running for Senate, and Gwen Goodman, his campaign manager. They want to improve Livewire’s image with the public as a way to defeat Wright’s opponent, a strongly anti-psiot rights advocate.

The writing and art team of Vita Ayala, Tana Ford, and Kelly Fitzpatrick did a good job setting up the next arc. Trying to protect psiot rights through the political venue is new to Livewire, in part because she is suspicious of most people and also because she’s a fugitive. This opens a new way for her to fight for her people by appealing to humanity rather than force.

On the art side, there are some creative splash and panel designs that highlight Livewire’s look and powers. The political campaign bubbles are also nice touches that provide some exposition and style.

-Amanda Sheriff