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The Life is Strange series at Titan was a phenomenal piece of expanded universe media, adding to the lore of the games and making all choices canon through interesting narrative choices. Emma Vieceli, the writer of the previous volumes has stepped down, but Claudia Leonardi has remained. Now Zoe Thorogood has taken on the job of writing a new entry, this time focusing on a character from the third game in the franchise “True Colors.”
Life Is Strange: Forget Me Not #1: The Clever Swerve Around Canon
What is interesting about Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 is how it feels like a homecoming and something entirely different at the same time. Claudia still being the artist means that any old returning characters maintain their designs and conjure up the same feelings they did before.
She also uses her style to express the characters from “True Colors” in a manner similar to the previous volumes, allowing for strong characterization via facial expressions. It is just the perfect blend of artistic expression, comforting familiarity, and adherence to the source material. Where the art feels like a homecoming, the storytelling tells something different.
The previous volumes took place after the “save Chloe” ending of the first game, but eventually proved themselves to be sequels to all possible choices with the introduction of the Transect. Multiple timelines and universes, infinite possibilities, and the reassurance by the creative team that they are not canonizing particular choices from a choice-based game.
Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 is different mainly because the game it picks up from is different. Unlike Max, Alex’s powers are emotion-based instead of time-based. They cause the inevitable question of what choices have been deemed canon from True Colors. This is where Zoe has done something very clever. She has invented an entirely new continuity that cannot coexist with the games to avoid outright canonizing anything.
This is an Elseworlds comic of sorts for the “Life is Strange” franchise. As established in Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 the events of the prequel game “Before the Storm” took a vastly different direction meaning the first game just could not have happened, the second game has a significant change in its first episode, and “True Colors” while happening roughly as presented in the game has a different feel to it because of the aftershocks of the new continuity changes. Chloe and Rachel left Arcadia Bay together, Max never returned, and Alex got together with Steph, it is all familiar yet completely different.
It is a stroke of genius by the creative team to get around the inevitable question of canon in this franchise.
Life Is Strange: Forget Me Not #1: Moral Implications Of Lily
The “Life is Strange” franchise ultimately is an anthology series featuring the plights of youths, usually of some minority groups, that while grounded add an extra supernatural element to which the drama is heightened and allow the themes and allegory to take on a new aspect in the storytelling. The powers are an intrinsic part of the franchise and are always tied to the themes of the piece in some way.
Max made a mistake in her past and wishes she could fix that, so she has time travel powers. Daniel is a kid being chased for a crime he did not commit because of his race, so to have the ability of telekinesis thus alter the order of things provides comfort, Alex is an orphan with a troubled past who is reuniting with her brother for the first time in many years so she can read emotions due to having anxiety. This does not count the characters introduced in the previous volumes of Life is Strange at Titan Comics which brings this theme and power balance to a whole new level.
The plot of Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 is told from Alex’s perspective as she travels with her girlfriend Steph on a musical tour. But Lily is the true star of the show as her powers are new and have an ethical dilemma attached to them. Lily can absorb memories from people. Simple when you think about it but more complicated than it seems.
We all have moments in our lives we would like to forget, embarrassing moments, moments of great pain and suffering, etc. If you could get rid of them, honestly and truly get rid of them, would you? And is it the right thing to do as the person taking those memories away or are you robbing the person of the ability to overcome those memories?
Lily being a young kid is no coincidence, moral quandaries like this aren’t on her mind, she just wants to help like all kids do. This is a fantastic setup that I can’t wait to see unfold especially as these powers can clearly interact with Alex’s control of emotions. This is a classic science fiction moral quandary.
Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 Is New, Bold, Yet Comforting
Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 is comforting and new; using old characters with new ones, old creative team members joining with new ones, and a new continuity in the franchise is opened up from aspects of the old. It is a bold new direction and we are fascinated to see how this all pans out.
Life is Strange: Forget Me Not #1 is the first of the series that does not have the weight of the previous volumes, but it does give us a glimpse of something that could potentially reach those heights.