The gripping immigration-with-superpowers parable Home is at the halfway point, with the penultimate fourth issue due out July 21. Ahead of the issue's release, writer Julio Anta has shared several pages by him and artist Anna Wieszczyk from Home #4. Take a look:
Image Comics/Top Cow Productions' Home follows a mother-and-son duo of Mercedes and Juan who are torn apart at the US border due to the government's family separation policy. That traumatic event activates Juan's latent powers, and what follows is a superhero-sized immigrant story that mixes real-life events with the superhero fiction comic books are known for.
In July 21's Home #4, Juan's newfound safety with his aunt Gladys comes under fire from ICE agents out to get him. But before they can get to them, Gladys confides in Juan how his superpowers aren't an accident but part of their family - with Juan's father suffering consequences like Juan is now, only years before.
While writer Julio Anta has created Home to tell an entertaining story, he also wants to give comics readers a perspective they may not have seen before - but under the familiar veneer of superheroes.
"I came into writing Home, as I have with my other projects, with a very clear intent," Anta told Newsarama recently. "For Home my intent was to expose comic book readers to the cruelty being perpetrated against immigrants, particularly Latinx immigrants, at the southern border. I wanted to write a story with authentic characters that readers would fall in love with, and empathize with.
"This being a comic book, particularly aimed at the direct market, I thought there were some interesting parallels between the common superhero origin story tropes and the feeling of helplessness and loss of control you might feel as an immigrant in a foreign land. Once that clicked, I knew I had to bring that superhuman element into the story."
Home #4's main cover is by Lisa Sterle, with a variant by Jacoby Salcedo. Check them out here:
Home #4 (of 5) goes on sale on July 21. A collection of all four issues, titled Home Vol. 1, is already scheduled for November 23.
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