For all intents and purposes, Superman is an illegal immigrant. Most everyone knows the story, about an infant put on a rocket ship by his desperate parents, and sent to Earth from the dying world of Krypton. Baby Kal-El crash-lands in Kansas, and is found by a childless couple who raise him.
Now let’s mix things up slightly. Imagine the future Superman as a frightened little brown boy, who doesn’t arrive in the United States from another planet. Instead, he crosses the US border into Texas from Mexico, having fled from gang violence in Guatemala. This fledgling hero has made the harrowing month-long journey on foot, by bus, on the back of trucks, and even via freight train, accompanied by his mother. The pair reach the “promised land,” ready to claim their asylum rights as refugees. Except, immigration policies have changed overnight with the election of a new president. You know who. Immediately, the boy and his mother are labelled criminals, and treated as such.
That’s the set-up for Home, a deft balance of heart-soaring super-powered heroics and heavy, real-world socio-political issues – from writer Julio Anta (in his comics debut) and artist Anna Wieszczyk. Published by Image Comics, the first trade paperback of Home releases today, November 17, and collects issues 1 to 5 of this standout 2021 series.
Home Volume 1 is a fast-moving tale that manages to accomplish a lot without feeling rushed. It holds up a mirror to recent events in our world, and therefore isn’t short on upsetting moments. Immigration facilities that are nothing more than icy holding pens. Children’s detention centres worse than prisons. That neighbour Karen who regularly calls the cops on her non-white neighbours. Gleefully brutal ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents who consider feeling “uncomfortable” as a valid reason to shoot at children. Mothers forcefully separated from their breast-feeding babies.
Even if you’ve read the news articles before, seeing these scenarios depicted in comic form produces a potent emotional reaction. The effect is heightened by Wieszczyk’s highly expressive style, which continually draws focus to characters’ faces.
There is a lot of fear, confusion, frustration and anger in Home. When our hero Juan is separated from his mother Mercedes, the emotional turmoil triggers his latent super powers, which include enhanced speed and energy blasts. Fortunately, even with Mercedes deported back to Guatemala, Juan has his aunt Gladys – long settled in the US – to protect and guide him after he escapes the children’s facility.
Up until now in this review, Home has probably sounded like a relentlessly bleak and difficult read, depicting the Latinx immigrant experience exclusively in the darkest, most depressing shades. The comic’s reflection of real-world injustice and dehumanisation is tough to witness, to be fair, but there is a reprieve. Juan does still encounter kindness and friendship in the world, and Home doesn’t lack in tender moments between our resolute young protagonist and the family members who will do anything for him.
Then there are the satisfying scenes where our heroes turn the tables on their callous government pursuers. Again, though, Home doesn’t gloss over the complexities of fighting back against injustice. Doing so typically unleashes the public narrative of “dangerous aliens,” and “migrant menace,” making the situation worse for others in the same marginalised group.
Home is so in touch with the realities of life in contemporary, divisive America that the final few pages of the trade paperback do jar – with a defiant Texas governor and Houston mayor delivering a hopeful, welcoming message to immigrants. With what we know about the conservative state, and have seen happening to individual rights there in 2021, the official position in the comic doesn’t really ring true.
Then again, there is a reason for this grand speech. Home’s storyline is far from over with its first arc. Just as an administration change in real life doesn’t mean an instant sweeping away of everything vile that has been encouraged to fester, more threats are lurking in the shadows for Juan and his loved ones.
Read the first issue of Home online here. Find assorted purchase options for the trade paperback at the same link.