If nothing else, All Blossom Electric in the City of Black Miracles is wholly original. I can’t really say that I’ve ever read anything else quite like it. It’s an edgy and off-the-walls take on the superhero genre. Although to be honest, it hardly feels like that at all! Rather, it focuses on wildly unique and powerful villains. It more or less presents itself as a tale of their coming together leading to the destruction of the world.
The art of “All Blossom Electric” is as out-there as its premise. The colors are often bright and vibrant, popping against dark backdrops and outlines. The rugged, almost color pencil-esque art style gives it a gritty yet cartoonish feeling. Which is appropriate considering the tone the comic is going for. It certainly evokes memories of early and edgy internet webcomics from back in the day. This adds an air of nostalgia to it as well.
My main issue with All Blossom Electric in the City of Black Miracles is how it seems to be throwing everything at the wall, without giving it much chance to stick. The action of a fight or the pace of a conversation frequently grinds to a halt; characters continually explain aspects of the world or the power behind an attack. Often times, these bits of exposition can go on for a page or three; all of it filled with lots of text without any actual bearing on the story. It’s satirical, and intentionally very over-the-top. But so much happens so fast that it doesn’t always land, even if it isn’t always meant to be taken seriously.
I appreciate the desire to world-build through action and combat. But the pace of the fights suffer in the grand scheme of execution. Sometimes, the denseness of the text makes the comedy of all the absurdism less effective. The randomness and off-the-wall concepts and characters might work for some – and I can wholeheartedly say that it did for me. Unfortunately, this is only the case sometimes. Pacing issues aside, many of the superpowered characters or high-concept lore dumps do give me either some good laughs or and a solid mind-bend every now and then. There is a ton of creativity here; from character designs, super powers, and obscure lore, to this bizarre world.
Some readers may find themselves easily put-off by the edgier aspects of the story and humor. This can complicate things alongside the almost distracted style of writing which continuously dumps information on the reader. These are often high-concept, ridiculous, and usually pretty dark. One character punches with the force of the entire legions of Rome. Another at one point attacks with a summoned tentacle from…animated Japanese pornography. These two examples are from just the first dozen or so pages. Yet, they are probably the best way to summarize the tone and taste of this graphic novel. But neither one scratches the surface of how crazy things get.
Overall, it is clear that a lot of care has gone into All Blossom Electric in the City of Black Miracles. There seems to be clear effort to put a barrage of goofy, dark, and creative ideas on display at all times. However, I think the book would benefit from slowing down from time to time. This will allow it to flesh out the ideas that matter to the narrative at large. There a lot of insane and great concepts and humor here. But they do sometimes get in the way of each other, taking up more time than needed. Regardless, it’s a fun romp with a very colorful cast of characters.
What is the strangest super power that you could use to destroy the world? Interested in delving more into the world of All Blossom Electric in the City of Miracles? It’s available now on Comixology! Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter!
