A Comic By Larry Patrick Higgins

I’ve started reading a comic series called Nyobi by Larry Patrick Higgins via a mixture of Kickstarter and Drive Thru Comics. Truthfully, I started the series because I accidentally bought this very comic thinking it would be more stand-alone through a Kickstarter campaign not realizing it made no sense without context. Now that I’ve read more, it’s time to talk about Avani Origins #1. This book gives the illusion through the cover-art that it will be far more raunchy than it actually is, but as I have stated in previous reviews, the book is pretty grounded and skimpy clothing is about as bad as it gets.

“AVANI: ORIGINS #1 follows the events that occurred in Nyobi issues 2 & 4 as Avani is set loose upon the world, seeking both answers and revenge. While Avani was seen as a villain by some readers and as an anti-hero by others, one thing’s for certain, she definitely gave our Japanese popstar-turned-superhero a run for her money! Now discover the startling origin of our bad girl and what makes Nyobi’s hard-hearted nemesis tick.”

This is a relatively short comic telling the backstory of the villainess/antihero(?) of the Nyobi series by Larry Patrick Higgins. Avani, known as Alexa in her past life, was a normal girl living under extreme pressure under a relentless father, pushing her to become the top swimmer at her school and setting for nothing less than perfection. After coming in second place in a race that would have solidified her future as a professional swimmer, she is shamed by her father until the stress seemingly causes her to awaken as a “G-Nom” which is this universe’s equivalent to something like a demi-human (DC) or Mutant (Marvel). Armed with water powers, she suffers a death of sorts as a result, setting the path to becoming what we see in the other comics.

I enjoyed this book as a look as the how Avani got started, but was not as big on the considerable downslide in artwork from the main range of comics. It’s written well, tells a tragic story, and has a cool character, but it looks like it’s almost unfinished at times. That said, fans of this series, should read it anyway as it really fleshes the character out a lot. If there is an Avani #2, I will be sure to check it out in order to see what happened in the time between the two comics, as I’m sure she had quite the body count working for the Government. Stay tuned for more!