In this review of White Sky #1, Violet and her dad are doing their best to navigate the apolcalypse. But their situation quickly goes awry.
White Sky #1
Writer: William Harms
Art and Main Cover: Jean Paul Mavinga
Variant Covers: Eliza Ivanova, Ben Templesmith, Luana Vecchio
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: February 18, 2026
This review contains spoilers
As White Sky #1 opens, we see abandoned vehicles everywhere, with the sky having taken on a white hue. And traveling through the ruined landscape of what was once the San Francisco Bay Area are a man and his teenage daughter Violet. And they know they’re being followed by someone/something.
After a close call with the unseen entity, they find some shelter for the night. They talk for a bit, and plan to cross the bridge the next day. They eventually go to sleep for the night…but then Dad wakes up to something outside. He wakes Violet and tells her to grab the salt, just in case it’s the Fire.
Good news: it’s just humans. Bad news: it’s armed humans that seem to know who he is. After a brief fight, they go to drag him off. Before Violet can do much of anything to help, though, we get our first glimpse of the other big threat to people in this world. They’re robed figures, apparently floating on flames.
A voice of unclear affiliation urges Violet to create a salt circle and get in. It does help to repel the Fire…but now, Violet finds herself alone with the horrors…
So, right off the bat, I can always appreciate a good post-apocalyptic tale. And what’s working with White Sky #1 so far is that the story doesn’t automatically hit the reader with the exposition stick. Rather, we get little chunks of what’s going on as it goes.
What’s shown so far: the sky’s taken on a white color, like the atmosphere itself is basically pure fog now. We’ve got flaming robed figures lurking about that can be repelled by salt circles (indicating something of a supernatural nature). Humanity isn’t entirely wiped out, but it’s still sparse enough to be a concern, and this apocalypse isn’t restricted to just the San Fran Bay Area.
The interactions between Violet and her father are done really well, I think. The dialogue between them feels natural, even when it’s giving expositional information (such as the loss of Violet’s mother). It’s not stated exactly how she’d passed (illness before everything went to hell, something related to the apocalypse itself, possibly something related to the guys that’d attacked their shelter). Instead, there’s a photo of a younger Violet with her parents that they both look at every so often.
A bit of how horrific the situation is comes up as they discuss the plan to go to the bridge, as well. All while he sits down with her and braids her hair. It’s made perfectly clear that he’s the only person left in her life, and she’d have no idea how to handle things were she to lose him.
Which makes what happens to her Dad so devastating to her (and so necessary to the story). She’ll have to be the one to try and save him, thus forcing her to grow up quicker than someone probably should. But first, she has to feel overwhelmed about the whole thing, between her father being taken and the Fire approaching and hearing this voice in her head.
Speaking of the voice, I’m wondering if it’s the voice of her mother coming in to help. The presence of salt as a protective measure already sets the supernatural tone, so a spirit coming back to help her kid doesn’t feel too out of the realm of possibility. Plus, during the conversation between Violet and Dad, he mentions that her mother was much more than just the picture and that she’d always do anything to protect her. If that voice is her (or even just affiliated with her), that’d lend even more significance to that part of their conversation.
It also seems like the guys that attack their shelter that night know her Dad in some capacity. And they’re not pleased with him for whatever reason. I’m curious as to what he did to piss them off (because him killing Jerry wasn’t it). Looking forward to seeing that explored a bit in further issues.
The artwork in White Sky #1 is nicely done, as well. The whiteness of the sky gives everything a somewhat eerie quality, and the facial expressions are spot-on.
Final Thoughts
White Sky #1 is a heart-rending story of a father and daughter after the world’s end. It is looking like an interesting story so far. It’s a good solid start to a post-apocalyptic story that holds a good amount of promise.
