Waid manages to weave the trauma of the incident into the plot, even as he also uses it as a catalyst for new "ignited" characters.

This was a pretty typical superhero original story where there's a tragedy and people respond to the tragedy by miraculously getting superpowers. I did like all the characters and the artwork though. I could have been better but my god it could have been so much worse. If you're looking for a new superhero comic to get into, I would give this one a try.

Take six kids who survived a school shooting. Give them superpowers. What do you think would happen? They are high schoolers! They manage to screw things up because they have no plan, they just react. This time. But maybe not so the next time. Because they can learn. And pressure is a great teacher. Maybe the next volume will provide a bit more about the "grief counselor" and what part she has in the Phoenix Academy conspiracy.

It's the start of a new school year. Unfortunately, for the teens in Ignited that means returning not only to school, but the place where tragedy in the form of a school shooting happened. While most students struggle with facing the lost of friends, others struggle with finding they have become ignited by the shooting and in doing so have gained superpowers. With the argument that teachers should be armed as well it is not a normal start to the school year. The ignited teens must decide which side of the argument they are on and what they are going to do about it.

This graphic novel is very prevalent to today's society and tackles a very hot topic. This is not your typical graphic novel despite it having characters with super powers. This is definitely a book for older teens due to the sensitive nature and the language which the characters use. With that being said, I can appreciate how this book can continue to spark and encourage discussions about the epidemic that is affecting our country.

This is pretty much just a take on the X-Men, really. A bunch of teenagers who survive an Arizona school shooting suddenly find themselves with superpowers and trying to stop everyone they know from being reactionary asshats and taking things WAY too far in an effort to "keep them safe."
It's pretty political - it kind of hits you over the head with "guns are bad, guns in schools are even worse" and puts pretty much every adult in a REALLY terrible light, so it's pretty heavy-handed on the preachiness level.
Maybe other issues will do more to flesh out the characters? So far they are pretty bland.

Ignited Vol. 1 by Mark Waid and Kwanza Osajyefo, GRAPHIC NOVEL
H1 (Humanoids), 2019. $15.
Language: R (51 swears, 19 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
The first day of school is never great, but this first day of school is making the news because it’s also the first day of its reopening after a school shooting in May. Anouk just wants it to be a normal day to prove that normal is still possible, but that’s thrown out the window when an anonymous group pushes back against the unreasonable precautions the school administration is taking. As these students discover the odd similarities between their experiences with the shooting, they have to decide what they’re going to do with the new challenges arising.
The story was interesting, though the cause of the students’ powers is still ambiguous enough to be confusing. I wasn’t bored as I read, but I also don’t feel very compelled to find the following volumes to discover the answers to multiple unresolved questions. Overall, it was a good read with good illustrations, I just didn’t find it to be great. The violence rating is for school shooting scenes and action violence.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Fast paced and visually exciting this graphic novel combines the worst of adolescence with the best of herodom in a contemporary and troubled setting.

Trigger warning: School shooting

During a school shooting several kids see a purple light and gain super human abilities. They decide to use those abilities to protect the school when the local government is deciding to arm teachers.

This was a hard book for me to read. The reactions of the students and teachers hit a little too close to home for me. It broke my heart reading the book and at the same time infuriated me. I wanted to yell at the people who believed more guns were the answer.

Overall it was a good book that showed how far people go to protect themselves and those they care about.