Spark is Bad Idea admitting they lied about things, but only because they want to remember someone. This thematically fits into a post-invasion survival story where a lie is the only thing keeping people going. So much that with the untimely end of its creator and co-writer, Bad Idea is willing to break its rules; or at least give readers a look at a possibly hopeful future.
What’s The Lie?
To people who have been following my Bad Idea posts, supposedly this company of Valiant Entertainment alumni was shutting down. With this announcement as well as paper shortages, five titles were the last to come out. These were: Hero Trade: Passive/Aggressive, Monster Kill Squad, Pyrate Queen, Refuse x Last Resorts, and Odinn’s Eye. Unless you count the comics for pins and checks before changing to rocks; or the invisible comic Conceptual Funnies. With all of the troll marketing, it’s hard to take anything they say seriously. I don’t know about everyone else, but the fact that Spark was in development means someone was lying.
So What’s Spark?
Spark is a Bad Idea title under the pen of creator Ryan Bodenheim and the co-writer Robert Venditti. This sci-fi series is a post-invasion piece about holding out on hope in times of helplessness. With hostile aliens attacking and Earth’s military fighting it out, a group of people have to get away from the action. But after two years, Captain Lessup Giroux keeps what’s left of the crew in the dark of losing contact with other people. Between Bodenheim and Venditti is a compelling scenario about how sometimes hope and truths don’t go together. While transparency is something a lot of people expect their leaders to follow, it’s not always great for emergencies; at times it can even make a dire situation even worse.
A look at Lessup’s crew can certainly say that even with the truth, some problems are inevitable. One crew member lost her son and wants to find hope in Lessup’s son Rick. But one look at how this broken woman calls Rick by her son’s name shows just how hopeless the situation was. The other crew members are so desperate they look ready to pounce. So seeing Lessup demonstrate a strategy against them in how he delivers food is great writing. As is how everyone sticks together after a brush with betrayal so as not to divide. Hope might be fleeting, but that doesn’t mean it goes away.
Spark-ing Art
Bodenheim serves as the main artist for issue 1 of Spark, each character design, machine, and equipment piece has thought and care put into them. They all tell stories on their own with as little pages as possible. If this series ever goes forward, I just wonder who would pick up art duties. Anyway, Ulises Arreola serves as colorist with layers of detail put into it. Dave Sharpe’s lettering adds to this, like when Lessup shouts at alien gun drones with wordmarks practically bursting out of balloons. Or when SFX like radios make noises but placement suggests the volume of sound.
Bad Idea Breaks Its Rule
Bad Idea is the first instance of the company releasing a comic digitally, if in an incomplete form. This is significant because Bad Idea makes a few cardinal rules with its content; no collected editions, no digital releases, buy from comic stores only. The digital first issue is an exception because Bodenheim sadly passed away on December 2021. This issue is still going through all of the finishing touches, but Bad Idea decided to unveil it early. Because what better tribute to an artist than their last piece? Hopefully the completed physical edition is on everybody’s radar after this.
Which brings me to what else Spark means on the greater whole. Either Bad Idea is going to continue with more series, or is rebranding under a new name. With this title and the impressions all of the previous ones have made, there’s hope for something new.
Spark Rating
In any case, the first issue of Spark gets 8/10 for the amount of love and care put into it. With just a glimpse, this series could be the start of something even greater down the line. The characters have plenty of room to grow and the themes and setting can reflect this as well; that is if this bad idea does continue.