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Black and White$10.95 add to cart

In a dystopian future, The Academy churns out hero after hero gifted with extrahuman abilities. They fight crime and "Rabids"-- powered individuals that've gone rogue -- but not all is as it seems. When heroine Jet must face off against her old classmate, and now bitter enemy, Iridium it is obvious that despite the title, the creators are comfortable playing with shades of grey. Welcome to book one of The Icarus Project.

Having grown up reading comics, I am a sucker for a good superhero story, which Black and White delivers in spades. Reverential without being to cliqueish, it can be enjoyed by more than just comic fans. Kessler and Kittredge have created a great world full of interesting heroes and villains that if it was a comic, would be in my collection.

The authors alternate between the two leads, Jet and Iridium. Both, in the great tradition of Marvel Comics are deeply flawed and real people, despite their fantastical abilities. Interspersed with the modern narrative are a variety of flashback chapters covering Jet and Iridium's five years at The Academy. Jet's powers are based on shadow, while Iridium's are rooted in light. We see in detail how they first became friends and then enemies.

I have read all of Kittredge's published work to date, and I found it impossible to find an obvious split between the two author's work. It was hard to believe that something this tightly written was not the result of one writer's vision, so I know I'll be adding Jackie Kessler's Hell on Earth series to my "to read" pile after this. Black and White was just a fantastic and seamless read all the way through. Kinetic and hard hitting, literally a comic book come to life.

See Also:

Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge

An Interview with Jackie Kessler

Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge