Review: And We Love You

A few years back I wrote a review (which, sadly, has been lost to the annals of the internet) about the Fell Hound comic one-shot, Commander Rao. It was a wonderful comic to read; poignant, heartbreaking, beautiful. I seem to recall being sad that it was all there was on this story.

... and then a prequel to it, entitled 'And We Love You' was released.

Well, now that Fell Hound's follow up to Commander Rao has been released on shelves by Scout Comics, I figured it was a good time to return to the 'Rao-verse' and see if this prequel could match with what came before it (or is it after?)

And We Love You tells the story of Julie Rao, the inspiration of the 'Commander Rao' name from the original story. Set a decade before it's previously released sequel, And We Love You follows Julie at the end when, following a botch mission by the Resistance leading to her sole survival and cornering at the hands of the Regime. However, as death reaches 'Private Rao', Julie's life (literally) bleeds out of her as we are given the story of her of her past, her joining of the resistance and the bond she forms with Kasey Cormack, the future 'Commander Rao.

I've always considered prequels something of a tough line to walk, as you have to be careful that you are placing your steps in the same place as you did before (not unlike a minefield to analogise in a fashion which connect to the comic in some way). However, Fell Hound does this incredibly well with so many aspects of the original comic acquiring a sort of emotional resonance as a result.

Much like with Commander Rao, And We Love You is a beautifully told and truly heartbreaking story. It's made even more so of both thanks to the fact that it imbues Commander Rao with greater context to it's own story, making it even more impactful. Of course, that's not to say that And We Love You needs it's 'sister' comic in order to make sense because even on its own merits, this issue is just heartfelt and captivating in its execution, as Hound displays and exhibits a bond between characters which just feels immensely sophisticated compared to so many other comics (and that's not a knock on them, it's simply that this is THAT good).

Meanwhile, Hound's art in this comic is equally outstanding, especially in the use of colours. While the art style itself has a look which mirrors a lot of indie romance comics (the one which springs to mind is the webcomic, Curia Regis), it's the use of colours in And We Love You which really packs of punch. This is down to the contrast Hound uses both monochrome and colour in equal measure, with the black and white becoming more prevalent in the present as Julie's memories (and with them the colour) (even literally) bleed out of her. As a result, this read gives us a new twist on an old adage that life is colour while death (as the Black Lanterns would probably attest) is not.

I've rambled on for a bit here but let us get a bit more back on track as I finish up. A few years back I got the opportunity to read Commander Rao (as previously mentioned) and it was always my intention to buy it for myself when the opportunity came. Sadly, I missed it and forgot but now I've had a second chance I'm glad that I took it.

Because, at it's core, whether paired with Commander Rao or not, And We Love You is a story about finding love and friendship even when the world is throwing its worst at us. And in a world which has seen no amount of strife in the last few years, a reminder like this that there is always someone there to hold our hand maybe isn't such a bad thing.

Then again, having that reminder in our hands to read maybe isn't such a bad thing either.