The Adventures of Lumen N. #1: Dear Diary…

The Adventures of Lumen N. #1 is a very exposition heavy first issue, and almost all of it is devoted to getting to know the titular character, Lumen. Some of this comes through a conversation between Lumen and her friend’s mother where the two stubborn children push back on why they need to study the subjects they’re reading. The conversation reads awkwardly, as though Robinson is trying to force out information. This is followed by Lumen making a diary entry that is split into many caption boxes over multiple pages. This is practically “Lumen 101.” The chief problem with exposition delivered in this manner is that it prevents any tension or urgency from forming.

Lumen does make for an intriguing character, though. She is thoughtful and curious. She’s also spent her life largely in isolation and thus makes for an effective point of view character as the reader gets to know this fictional world.

Steampunk elements offer the greatest potential in The Adventures of Lumen N. #1. Robinson doesn’t go too heavy in that direction yet. The first three pages point in a steampunk direction, but Robinson largely holds those aspects back until the final pages. The reveal makes for an exciting conclusion to the issue. And Lumen’s confusion helps sell the shock of the moment. These final few pages make up for the lack of tension throughout most of the issue.

Artist Phil Hester’s tendency toward straight lines and sharper angles serves the steampunk elements in The Adventures of Lumen N. #1 very well. The cross between exoskeletons and mechs that appear late in the issue take on a more threatening quality because they lack any kind of curves or general elegance.

The art overall is very typical of Hester’s style. Outlines of objects and characters are thick relative to other linework. Characters’ expressions are more on the broad side with emotion communicated almost entirely through eye and mouth shape. Shading is abrupt, with patches of black used in almost all circumstances for anything not being directly in the path of an implied light source. The art has weight to it, and action sequences project a little more power because of it.

Bill Crabtree’s coloring is a good accompaniment to Hester’s art. In the same way that Hester’s shading is usually nothing more than “unlit” black areas, Crabtree’s coloring doesn’t have gentle transitions in shade as a color goes from fully in light to in shadow. There is seldom more than one shade of any color used for an object. For instance, in Lumen’s room, her brown chest of drawers is one identical shade of brown and her couch is one identical shade of mauve despite the fact that they are on separate walls in separate relation to where the light in the room would be.

Letterer Jim Campbell does good work in some very text heavy sequences keeping the diary caption boxes out of the way of Hester’s art. And the very soft, dull peach keeps the captions noticeable among the richer colors of most pages but also unobtrusive.