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I’m going to be a demagogue here and compare Astrid Mueller to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the attorney investigating Donald Trump and his ties with Russia. I know. This is demagoguery, but I could not help it, as I am reviewing a comic that came out eight months ago. Gail Simone’s name for Astrid Mueller has no connection to Robert Mueller. She probably wrote and named the heroine years ago. But there is a lot that can be said about Astrid Mueller which makes her resemble Robert Mueller.
First, we do not know what Robert Mueller will uncover in his investigation. We do not have accounts of his personal determination to see through the collusion of the Trump world. But we know that he is thorough and ready for the job. Astrid Mueller is the same and even ready to fall, if it means the rest of humanity prevails. Now, I do not believe that Robert Mueller would break any rules, or whistle blow information about his investigation if he were fired by Donald Trump, but as long as he is on the job, we can trust that he will do it ethically.
Astrid Mueller is battling demons, one of which is her own niece. She tried to prepare for every consequence. Only once in this series did she lose her cool when facing that demonic child. Let’s hope that Robert Mueller will have more verve when dealing with the man-child in the White House. My review of Clean Room using word play is not something that Gail Simone could have planned or predicted.
Clean Room was written as an adventure and horror thriller mixing our current post-modern world, cults, religion, fanaticism, and corporatism in one mix. She did not attempt to write a political allegory for Trump’s presidency. Yet, the strength of her story is that it can lend itself to such interpretation and demagoguery! Re-reading this issue that slipped through my review list eight-months ago made me want to revisit the entire series. I like how it was not intended to replicate or represent the current U.S. political sphere but still does. That’s how good comics become eternal and amenable to second readings for generations.
Walter Geovani continues the tradition of limiting the black and dark areas in the comic, especially in the well-lit clean room. But outside, in the streets, he did use good amounts of inks. He knows how to ink and play with light and dark. But he is choosing to focus on the bright. That, as I have written before, is a good choice.
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