Jem And The Holograms #16 Review: A Killer Duet

By Alex Widen | Jul 25, 2016

See the duet which saved the world in Jem And The Holograms #16! Fans of the cartoon and of great comic books will be thrilled by this arc’s conclusion!

Jem and the Holograms #16

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Sophie Campbell

Colorist: M. Victoria Robado

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Covers: Sophie Campbell, Paulina Ganucheau and Jen Bartel

It may have been almost a year since the forgettable film adaptation of the beloved 1985 animated series Jem (or Jem and the Holograms) slunk out of theaters after failing to even recoup its budget of $5 million, but IDW Publishing’s licensed comic book has continued to thrive. Spearheaded by writer Kelly Thompson (A-Force, Storykiller, The Girl Who Would Be King) and artist Sophie Campbell (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Glory, Wet Moon), it has re-imagined and revitalized the series for 21^st century audiences both old and new.

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With this sixteenth issue, the series completes its third and greatest arc yet in “Dark Jem.” To recap, the titular Jem and the Holograms are in fact Jerrica Benton and her younger sisters—her biological sister Kimber and her adopted sisters Aja and Shana. The quartet were kept from taking their band outside of their own garage or private studio sessions due to Jerrica’s crippling stage fright.

The girls stumble upon something “truly outrageous” when they discover a secret artificial intelligence program that their late father was working on. Revealed as an experimental holographic personality program named Synergy, Jerrica utilized it to create a stage persona for herself as Jem, lead singer of the Holograms.

The opportunity to leap into pop culture arose when the big time studio band the Misfits (headlined by the maniacal Pizzazz and consisting of Roxy, Stormer, and Jetta) held a contest offering the best indie band a spot to battle them in a big concert based on viral hits.

“Fans of the original cartoon series are in for a wonderful treat”

Quickly rising to the top of social media with their amazing holographic visuals and vocals, Jerrica and her sisters quickly had to adapt to life in the music industry. This included meeting music reporter Rio Pacheco, who quickly developed a crush on Jerrica alongside a fascination with the elusive Jem, as well as dealing with sabotage efforts by Misfits groupies Clash and Blaze.

Kimber also had to keep her budding romance with Stormer a secret from both the media and her band-mates for a time. Unable to outmatch the upstart band at every turn, Pizzazz’s attempt to discover the secret of Synergy at a party ended with her humiliated as well as her singing career imperiled after a car accident.

Now, just as the Holograms have gained a contract from the same company behind the Misfits (who begrudgingly replaced Pizzazz with Blaze on lead vocals), they face their greatest challenge yet which involves nothing less than world domination!

When creating Synergy in the past, Jerrica’s father, Emmett, was unable to completely purge a glitch within the complicated system before his untimely death. This glitch eventually corrupted Synergy and spawned its own personality, calling herself Silica. Utilizing a unique sound to subconsciously control the minds of anyone who hears it, Silica set about on liberating anyone who heard it from free will.

Initially corrupting Jem and the Holograms with dark versions of themselves, a traumatic encounter between Jem and Rio managed to free Jerrica from Silica’s influence and lead to the liberation of the rest of the band. Unfortunately, by this time, Silica had formed her own band (called the Sickness, consisting of three other brainwashed girls) and spread it’s corrupting song both online and during at least one live concert.

While Synergy herself had been saved, the Holograms faced no easy solution with stopping Silica and liberating the legions of music fans she’d enthralled until an unlikely ally emerged with a killer idea—Pizzazz herself! With the only method of liberating someone from Silica’s spell being “an unexpected shock,” she proposes a killer duet which may hold the fate of the planet in the balance!

The love which Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell had for the franchise throughout their run on this series had always been apparent, but this arc elevated it to another level. Never afraid to push the boundaries or mix nostalgia with creativity, “Dark Jem” has turned Jerrica’s greatest strength into her worst nightmare. In putting their heroines through the ringer, readers have seen what they are made of, and more importantly, what they are willing to risk to put things right.

Jerrica, already guilt ridden for unleashing Silica accidentally, suddenly no longer wants to act as Jem again. Kimber, always the most energetic of the group, was the least willing to sacrifice Synergy and may have been tempted to go solo in the future. And Pizzazz (or Phyllis Gabor) went through her lowest moments in recovering from her accident and seeing the Misfits move on without her, at least briefly.

Initially seen as a tyrannical force, Pizzazz is ultimately an experienced front woman who is more than aware of the short self life that many musicians have and has been understandably flummoxed by this fresh band from nowhere endangering the Misfits’ reputation. This sixteenth issue wraps up the “Dark Jem” story with a finale which may rely more on awesome visuals than dialogue, but proves to be incredibly satisfying.

Pizzazz not only gets a new outfit which seems to ape some of Jem’s color schemes, but the Holograms even perform the Misfits’ signature song on stage! Yet just as Silica seems to be defeated and things return to what seems to be a new normal, a new band appears on the horizon which fans of the cartoon will know well—the European based Stingers!

As with virtually every issue of this series she draws, Sophie Campbell’s art (which is colored by M. Victoria Robado) is a visual feast for the eyes of style and color. Her visual depiction of music in this series has always set it apart from other comics, and Campbell’s sense of fashion has defined the entire foundation of the series. She seems able to draw upon an unlimited number of designs so that no two sets seem to have the same costumes for any of the musicians involved.

All of her character designs are distinct and unique and embrace the wide range of diversity which the original cartoon suggested, effortlessly building an amazing world around the cast. The sequence showing the concert and Silica’s downfall alone seem to inspire memories of the TV show’s main theme running alongside it for dramatic effect.

And while the series usually earns its cover price based on the amazing art alone (which is showcased especially this issue), Kelly Thompson excels at depicting the interaction of her extended cast. By this stage in the series, the characters are so well defined that one usually tunes in for more of their interactions or to see how their own soap opera subplots are faring; the main plot is almost an afterthought.

In raising the stakes to their highest level—a level which would be worthy of a superhero team, much less “girl bands”—Thompson has once again topped herself in terms of co-creating an amazing new vision of this franchise for readers old and new. IDW has helped lead a Renaissance for licensed comic books with ongoing series such as Transformers: More than Meets the Eye and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Readers who enjoy great comics should include Jem and the Holograms among that number. Fans of the original cartoon series are in for a wonderful treat, while those who never gave the cartoon any thought in the past are gifted with a well crafted yarn with great characters and some of the best artwork on the stands today.

It may be possible that this issue may be the last for Sophie Campbell, and if so, she certainly did her best to deliver an issue which managed to top all of her previous ones. Lovers of creative and under appreciated comics should grab up the previous trades and get in on the song today!