Jem and the Holograms: Infinite #1 review: From super stars to super heroines
By Alex Widen
Jem and the Holograms are back, and so are the Misfits! Will both bands face their greatest challenge?
Jem and the Holograms: Infinite #1
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artists: Stacey Lee & Jen Hickman
Colorist: Sarah Stern
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To say that Jerrica Benton and her sisters have had an exciting musical career is an understatement. They’ve inherited an advanced artificial intelligence holographic system. Their rise to stardom immediately earned them the rivalry of the Misfits. In addition, they’ve also had to face threats such as evil artificial intelligence, bears, spies, love triangles, and cliffs. Yet they’ve always come out on top. They even expanded their band with an exciting new drummer, Raya!
Image by IDW Publishing
Their vacation in Hawaii is over, and it’s time for another concert at the Starlight Foundation. Unfortunately, they run into Pizzazz and the Misfits for the first time since their rivals almost blew them up by accident at a masked ball. To say that there’s no love lost between Pizzazz and Jem is another understatement. Having been ditched by their record label due to machinations loosely connected to the Holograms, Pizzazz’s zeal against them runs hotter than ever before!
Image by IDW Publishing
Seems like Pizzazz Is Always a Force of Nature!
To Jem and the Holograms, rivalry with the Misfits is so last season. After all, as chronicled in their own miniseries, the Misfits are doing rather well for themselves. They’ve starred in a successful reality TV show and earned their own record label. As masters of their own destiny without a boss, it could be argued they’re in better shape than the Holograms. To Pizzazz (as well as to Jetta), the Holograms remain bitter enemies, and this slight against them cannot go without vengeance.
Image by IDW Publishing
Between her identity issues and boyfriend drama, Jem’s hardly in a mood to rekindle this rivalry. Nor is Aja, nor Kimber and Stormer for that matter. The star crossed lovers have seen just about enough of this drama after all. As a result of the scene, the two bands are on the verge of being at the center of a social media click storm. Hence, their tempers have to be stifled for the moment as both Jem and Pizzazz call it a draw for the sake of their immediate reputations.
Image by IDW Publishing
Speaking of boyfriend drama, Rio turns up for a two-page cameo. Covering the concert as part of his gig as music journalist, it was inevitable that he’d run into Jem again. He’s since learned her secret, and remains in emotional limbo over being lied to for so long. Jerrica is eager to reconcile, but Rio remains unsure. He’s unable to handle just being Jerrica’s friend, and his trust in her as a lover has been greatly damaged. In addition, Rio continues to warn about the danger of secrets.
Image by IDW Publishing
As a Result of Techrat, Their World Is Upside Down!
As always, Jem can turn to the rest of the Holograms for emotional support. They remain divided regarding the status of Jerrica’s secret identity. While Shana understands Rio’s point that the backlash will go down better if the Holograms themselves reveal it, the rest of the band are against its revelation. Aja reminds the group that the entire point of the Jem identity was to cure Jerrica’s stage fright, an ailment which remains. With Raya’s support, it all seems settled.
Image by IDW Publishing
As anyone who’s read this series knows, the worst tends to happen after a group hug. Things go off the wall in the second half of the issue. Still fired up over the Misfits, the Holograms run into Techrat near the exit of the center. Best known as Pizzazz’s hacker for hire, the Holograms are in no mood to see him. Things consequently get worse when Techrat begins bringing up an utterly wild story regarding parallel earths, saving the world, and even being friends with their late father!
Image by IDW Publishing
Having inherited Synergy from Emmett Benton at the start of the series, hearing his name again hardly endears Techrat to them. Yet he remains in earnest, and proves his point by summoning a large portal and revealing Jem’s secret identity! He claims he knows it because he’s the Techrat from an alternate Earth, where he and Emmett were good friends. Techrat claims on his home world that the Holograms’ holographic technology has been used for evil, and only they can stop it!
Image by IDW Publishing
The Stakes Have Probably Never Been This High!
If this sounds familiar, it should. On “their” Earth, Synergy eventually developed a nefarious alter ego named Silica. Her ability to control minds with subliminal sounds within music nearly caused the world to become her subjects. It was the first, and only, instance where the Holograms and Misfits united for a greater good. Yet the girls have barely scratched the surface as to what Synergy is capable of. In addition, Kimber and Shana want to see their dad one more time.
Image by IDW Publishing
Against their better judgement, the Holograms accept Techrat’s story at face value and dive into his portal. Unfortunately, their timing couldn’t be worse as Pizzazz and the Misfits witness their transport! Will Pizzazz utilize on this coincidence to be rid of Jem and the Holograms once and for all? Or will she and the Misfits join them in this other dimension? I could imagine Stormer wanting to help, and Pizzazz may simply not want the Holograms to get positive buzz from saving a world.
Image by IDW Publishing
To say that Kelly Thompson ups the ante with this opening chapter is yet a third understatement. Beyond the fantastic element of artificially intelligent holograms, she has tried to keep the series grounded. While the cartoon often had more over-the-top plots which sometimes involved criminals and kidnappers, Thompson’s comic has mostly focused on the interrelationships between the cast, as well as the adventure of being part of the strange world of music.
Image by IDW Publishing
Due to A-Force, Is It Possible to Get a Bead on This Tale?
While Infinite was pitched as a series which would delve into more of the science fiction elements, a parallel world is likely not what people expected. Techrat’s involvement was almost inevitable. He’d discovered “something” about Synergy years ago, and Thompson’s too good a writer to let that lay. It is very possible that Techrat’s entire scheme is a massive bit of subterfuge. If he’s somehow managed to imitate Synergy’s software, he could easily create the illusion of a world.
Image by IDW Publishing
If this is going to be a story about a parallel earth, it also plays into some of Thompson’s strengths and quirks. In the second arc on Marvel’s A-Force (the first which Kelly wrote completely on her own), she involved a plot revolving around Dazzler meeting an alternate version of herself with the power of Thor. While on the surface this was a fun lark, its deeper meaning was to allow Dazzler to come to terms with having a chronic, and terminal, illness. This could be an angle here.
Image by IDW Publishing
Coming into contact with a parallel world where it all went wrong could force Jem to come to terms with her identity crisis. After the Silica affair, it seemed like Jerrica wanted to abandon being Jem forever. Yet she wound up relying on the identity even more, which resulted in a mistaken fling with Riot of the Stingers. Synergy is an incredibly powerful technological marvel, but Jerrica utilizes it to cure her stage fright. Seeing its full wrath somewhere could give Jerrica more perspective.
Misfits, Jedi, and Great Artists!
As for the Misfits, Obi-Wan Kenobi once said, “It’s all a matter of point of view.” While Jem’s direct involvement in the Misfits’ troubles has been exaggerated, it also has been existent. Unlike the Holograms, the Misfits all came from broken homes and various paths. They clawed their way to the top of the music scene without a magic computer. Jem’s insistence that fame is something that can be shared shows some naivete. A band can go from popular to dustbin easily.
Image by IDW Publishing
While I certainly understand the Bentons’ caution with revealing Jem’s secret, a part of me wonders if everyone is overestimating its effect. After all, the Holograms would hardly be the first band to utilize a cover identity on stage. Many real life bands have done so, including KISS, Slipknot, and Daft Punk. The late David Bowie was known for his alter egos as well. Even the Spice Girls had a little of this. Granted, lying to a manager and record label is another matter!
Image by IDW Publishing
Stacey Lee and Jen Hickman both split the issue, with the former covering the first half with the concert, and the latter the Techrat stuff. Sarah Stern takes over from M. Victoria Robado on colors and does a bang up job keeping both artists’ styles in the same world. The strength of any Jem artist is how they handle the song sequences, and Lee’s sequence looks very cool. Both artists retain the flair for fashion and face paint that have been established for the series—and it all rocks.
Image by IDW Publishing
Next: See the Holograms' final bow in their series finale!
Seems like This Will Be an Infinitely Cool Crossover!
This is the start of an Infinite weekly crossover between this and a Misfits miniseries. Combined, it is slated to last six weeks, covering things from both bands’ perspectives. Adding an otherworldly element like parallel worlds two years in is a bit abrupt, but hardly outside the realm of comic books. Kelly Thompson seeks to bring some of the imagination she displays for the Marvel Universe into Jem, which is a net positive for readers. Tune in next week to see more truly outrageous stuff!