Eating Wallpaper With Joan Of Arc In She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #2
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Luna’s dreams are getting worse. After the run-in with the girl that ended with Luna hitting her in the face with a stapler, it seems that Luna’s mental state will never recover from the shootout. She hears voices from her own eye, and she goes to a new doctor to receive treatment. The doctor gives a prescription, but they have severe side-effects. Meanwhile, Bill is sprung from his prison, and the feds find another person connected to Mayura’s flying machine–who promptly kills himself.
She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #2 continues to follow Luna’s strained recovery and the struggles it puts upon her.
She Could Fly is a comic that has triumphed in its honest and believable warts-and-all depiction of mental illness in the character of Luna, and Lost Pilot #2 focuses heavily upon how Luna’s mental health as gotten worse. She has to wear sunglasses to “silence” her eye, she continues to see grotesque images that taunt her, and she even shares a meal of wallpaper with Joan of Arc. No matter how quirky or generally interesting these manifestations become, it’s still harrowing because you know what it’s doing to Luna.
The other plots are just icing on the cake really. Bill’s changes since the first She Could Fly volume have been interesting. He’s a cracking nihilist, but he still has affection for Luna. The mystery behind Luna’s possibly-living grandmother is interesting, and I look forward to the resolution of that too.
Martín Morazzo gets to go wild with the imagery in this comic. The art of She Could Fly has always been quite macabre, but Luna’s delusions and even some of the “real” imagery of the comic take it to another level in this issue. It’s gut-wrenching but strangely beautiful. Miroslav Mrva’s color work continues to balance a grounded atmosphere with cold surrealism.
She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #2 is another powerful issue from the She Could Fly story. Luna’s a lovable and tragic character who you just want to see get better. The conspiracy around Mayura’s flying machine gives the plot structure and a thoroughly engrossing one at that. This comic gets a strong recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #2 comes to us from writer Christopher Cantwell, artist and cover artist Martín Morazzo, color artist Miroslav Mrva, and letterer Clem Robins.