Yumi: 00EX #1
Creative Team
writer: DOUG WAGNER
artist: HOYT SILVA
colorist: KEVIN LENNERTZ
letterer: FRANK CVETKOVIC
publisher: IMAGE COMICS
Male spies get it all, cars more akin to driving breaches of the Geneva convention than modes of transport, the gadgets that do exactly what's needed at any given moment, not to mention the romance of it all. Maybe it’s time for the doors to the boys club to be blown off their hinges, and Yumi just so happens to own a grenade launcher.
Yumi: 00EX is a new take on the spy thriller from writer Doug Wagner (Plush, Plastic), artist Hoyt Silva (Adventures in Crime), colourist Kevin Lennertz (The Hard Place), and letterer Frank Cvetkovic (Batman: Dark Patterns). We follow Yumi, a twenty-something year old, desperately searching for the man she believes to be the love of her life, even if they did only have one date. Yumi: 00EX doesn’t waste too much time with the specifics and instead starts with our titular character busting open the doors to MI6 and going on a quick rampage.
The premise is pretty cool, a switch up on the typically male dominated spy thriller, Yumi's love interest isn’t just treated as a side of fries, but instead the whole burger. The only problem is that Yumi: 00EX wants its dessert too, but there’s only vanilla in the fridge. Yumi: 00EX wants to be a love letter to the classics, referencing plenty of Bond, but also, wants to be something new, a “spy-thriller for the SnapChat generation”. The references to modern pop-culture actually feel more painfully out of date then the nods to early spy movies. This is a comic book review so it’s by no means the best place to find out what the cool girls are up to, but it’s a safe bet to say they’d probably be listening to Slayyyter whilst they're blowing up MI6 and not Billie Eilish.
Yumi: 00EX is chock full of these rather weird attempts at relatability, with Yumi changing the voice of the A.I. in her car from a Jarvis type butler to Cardi B – It’s a play on words, sure, but it's a little uncomfortable, especially with a pretty terrible attempt at AAVE. Also, with the knowledge that plenty of celebrities nowadays are having their voices unwittingly stolen by AI companies, and data centers powering them disproportionately devastating black communities. If you’re trying to make your character cool, why have them do something that would immediately have them kicked from the group chat? This tone deafness, coupled with some really out of date meme references makes you wonder who this comic book is for?
Silva’s artwork makes nice use of Yumi’s skillset and there's plenty of brutal moments on the page, with so much going on it can be a little hard to keep track of just where Yumi is in the chaos, Silva does a great job of giving Yumi loads of different expressions and really helps to bring her to life on the page. There are also some fantastically directed chibi sections that house the funniest moments in Yumi: 00EX. Lennertz colours are a real stand out, providing each location Yumi makes her way through with a unique visual palette that's really a treat for the eyes. Sometimes great art can save a weak script but despite its strengths there isn’t enough to keep you around for issue two.
Final Verdict
Yumi: 00EX is a bit of a misfire unfortunately, the script is weak and at times veers into some territory it would really rather avoid, the artwork, whilst strong, can only hide a poor script so much. Not to mention its rather out of date references. At the end of it all Yumi: 00EX is just out of touch and out of time.
| Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Writing | 2 |
| Story/Plot | 4 |
| Art/Line Work | 6 |
| Colors | 7 |
| Final Score | 4.75/10 |
