A broken heart is hard to mend. Some people’s hearts take longer than most. There are some people who wish they didn’t have one. Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren run with this idea in “Heart in a Box,†a comic about a heart that’s full of heart.
Emma is suffering from the worst depression ever after breaking up with her boyfriend. One day she comes across someone who says that he can end her pain by getting rid of her heart. She agrees and becomes an emotionless husk. After realizing this was a bad idea she wants her heart back and is told it was broken into pieces and is now being held by multiple people. Emma now has to cross the country to find the pieces of her heart.
This is the most literal story about a broken heart. Emma’s heart literally gets broken and now she’s trying to find the pieces and finish it. Despite the literal interpretation, the story is a heartfelt one. Here we see Emma change as a person emotionally through many life changing situations. It’s impressive to see a comic like this in this day and age. Emma must have the most character development in any comic.
One of the main reasons for this is the writing. Thompson has a knack for creating lifelike characters that are a lot more complicated than need be. Each character that Emma interacts with, though total strangers and have a piece of her heart, are well thought out.
McClaren’s art does something interesting with Emma. When we first see, her she has blue hair and a dark completion. After she gives up her heart, she is black and white and slowly gains her color back after she acquires a piece of her heart. It’s a nifty idea that works perfectly. The character designs can be described as McClaren’s artwork. They look like something that she alone came up with.
“Heart in a Box†is an emotional story with a great story and art. It’s lovingly told and will stay with you for a while.
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