Fray by Joss Whedon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fray is one of those books that keeps on giving. Originally published as a collected edition back in 2003, I remember hunting it down with an obsession bordering on, and excuse the tautology, the obssessed.
It tells the story of Melaka Fray, Slayer of the Future. Whedon handles “Future” well. He handles it with a sardonic clarity that particularly bears weight in these times. As he phrases it in the introduction “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” But as this is Whedon, that simple statement covers so much more. Emotion. Honour. Doing The Right Thing. All these don’t matter about where you come from, what you do in life. They come from you. And that’s something Whedon does exceptionally. He writes people. Strong, complicated and yes, with amazing hair.
Fray is worth revisiting, or even visiting if you’ve never got round to it. The art is fresh, dynamic and there’s a sort of glorious technicolour about it. It’s felt-tip pen direct at times; the bold use of colours in the palette all contribute towards giving Fray a very unique identity.
You don’t need to know much, or anything, about the Buffiverse. Slayer mythology and all that jazz is explained neatly and then that’s it. We’re off.
Don’t look back.
Daisy May Johnson 