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:
  NotesWriterArtist
#1

November, 2003
Cover Price: $2.50
14 copies available from $0.99 		Dan Abnett, Andy LanningKalman Andrasofszky
#2

December, 2003
Cover Price: $2.50
16 copies available from $0.50 		Dan Abnett, Andy LanningKalman Andrasofszky
#3

January, 2004
Cover Price: $2.50
8 copies available from $1.38 		Dan Abnett, Andy LanningKalman Andrasofszky
#4

February, 2004
Cover Price: $2.50
4 copies available from $0.75 		Dan Abnett, Andy LanningEric Vedder
#5

March, 2004
Cover Price: $2.50
3 copies available from $2.50 		Dan Abnett, Andy LanningKalman Andrasofszky, Eric Vedder
#6

April, 2004
Cover Price: $2.50
4 copies available from $0.96 		Dan Abnett, Andy LanningKalman Andrasofszky, Eric Vedder