Artober Day 10: EndGames, by Ru Xu!
So this one is actually a sequel to a comic called NewsPrints!, released back in 2017. The original story followed Blue, who disguises herself as a boy in order to be a newsboy, which in her world, that is in the middle of a war, she would never be allowed to do so. One day, she meets a young boy named Crow, who speaks little, often copying others, and is a little strange. Both hide their identities to keep themselves safe, but eventually they do learn each othersā secrets, and in order to protect Blue, Crow has to do something incredibly drastic. Many things are resolved, and Blue remains as safe as she could be, though she knows a lot more of what the government is doing, and her family and the Bugle work together to spread the news that they had learnt.
EndGames follows directly after the end of NewsPrints, wherein Blue is doing everything she can to keep her promise to save Crow and prevent him from being forced to do disastrous things. We learn more about the country and the current state of affairs, and it appears that a lot of it is coming from the older generations believing they have a right to more than they do, landwise. We learn more about the other country, the one that Blueās country is fighting, and meet Snow-White and Red, a spy and a pilot, who are trying to protect their home from the things Blueās government, and the machines that are connected to Crow.
The story is a lot about the importance of diplomacy and discussion, about recognizing when too far is too far, and taking a stand to prevent terrible tragedies and pyrrhic victories. Itās also a lot about how children can have a voice, young adults can too, and as frustrating and dangerous as it can be, sometimes the words of the next group of adults need to speak up in order to protect the vulnerable and how they can start the conversations that can lead to peace and understanding.
The art for this comic is hecking beautiful, and feels like itās like, lit up from within. Blue herself is dressed in a lot of blues, but her whole color palette is very warm, and I ended up mimicking the highlighting style because I just really love how itās done in this comic. I think what Ru Xu has to say in the story is pretty relevant today, and while it can be pretty heavy, it offers a lot of food for thought, and makes me think on how important it is for adults like me to listen to the voices of the youth and do my best to amplify them, and protect them, as eventually in the story, there are people who arenāt part of the older generation, but those who are next to take on the mantle, and see the consequences of the last generations actions.
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