iCandy

    (DC, 2003-2004)
™ and © DC Comics, Inc.

As little as a decade ago, any boy able to strongly identify with a fictional female character would have been considered a suitable case for treatment, but nowadays boys regularly know the thrill of stepping into the pixel shoes of some femme fatale in any number of fighting games, and no one thinks twice — which is odd, since in iCandy the game-obsessed lead really needs some help.

He’s either borderline autistic or near a complete emotional meltdown, thanks in large part to an absentee father, working mother, and missing sister. So, when a female video character (who looks like his sister) comes to life, Matthew doesn’t experience the stereotypical wondrous disbelief but more of a relieved “finally.”

The writing is appropriately minimalist, the art different with a toned-down color scheme, and, as usual, we’re not sure where any of this is leading. It could just be another high concept ready to be turned into a Hollywood blockbuster (or a videogame of its own) but it also displays a vivid sort of wish fulfillment and iconic avatar we haven’t seen since Superman.

— S.A. Bennett
Jump to issue:
  • 1
    #1
    Nov 2003
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning  ·  A: Kalman Andrasofszky
    13 copies from $0.99
  • 2
    #2
    Dec 2003
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning  ·  A: Kalman Andrasofszky
    16 copies from $0.60
  • 3
    #3
    Jan 2004
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning  ·  A: Kalman Andrasofszky
    8 copies from $1.75
  • 4
    #4
    Feb 2004
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning  ·  A: Eric Vedder
    4 copies from $0.96
  • 5
    #5
    Mar 2004
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning  ·  A: Kalman Andrasofszky, Eric Vedder
    3 copies from $2.50
  • 6
    #6
    Apr 2004
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning  ·  A: Kalman Andrasofszky, Eric Vedder
    4 copies from $0.96