Free Comic Book Day 2021- Life is Strange

 By Mark Rodriguez

Life is Strange is a popular interactive story type game where the choices you make affect how certain things go. The first game dealt with Max Caulfield having returned to her home town of Arcadia Bay and unknowingly witnessing the death of her best friend Chloe Price. She discovers she has the ability to turn back time, which she uses to prevent Chloe from dying, but now all sorts of weird things start happening around her as well as reality itself. All the while there is a giant storm headed for Arcadia Bay, which Max has been able to predict due to nightmares that is somehow tied to her new powers.

There was a prequel called 'Before the Storm' that deals with Chloe and her life before Max moved back and how she became the rebellious teen we met her as in the main game. There was a sequel that dealt with another set of characters, and there is a third game coming out with yet another protagonist. The common theme of all 3 games is that one of the characters develops some sort of special power and the consequences that come with it.

Anyways, Free Comic Book Day released a comic based on this series, and based on the cover it seems to show the classic characters Max and Chloe, but also a prelude for the upcoming game with the new main character Alex Chen. Let's take a look.

Before the book starts it explains the story begins after the first game ends. I'd have to find the actual comic book series for the whole story, but it seems Max is an alternate reality in which Chloe and her friend Rachel are both alive and dating. I assume they have adventures here and there but the main goal is for Max to somehow return to her own reality and to her Chloe.

The story opens with Steph and her friend Pixie trying out their video call, back in 2016. They tell a story they seemed to have made up that seems to parallel with that's happening to Max. Apparently it's been a year since the hurricane wrecked Arcadia Bay and Max and Chloe return to explore the ruins. Max travels between dimensions somehow and awakens in an unfamiliar village where she finds another version of Chloe as well as Rachel, alive and well. It seemed the Max of this world vanished and our Max had come to fill her place. 

Despite fitting in, Max still knows she is in the wrong world and wants to return home with her Chloe. She can't just open the portal back on her own, and she must find someone with the ability to do so that will join their party. This 'warlock' seems to be a guy named Tristan. Upon trying to help her return home, Tristan and Max are now stuck in yet another reality, where our heroine learns no one else can open this portal for her. Max runs into Pixie who might be a powerful enough to send both her and Tristan so they can complete the original spell, but there will be hurdles. 

Steph asks if their story sounds too cosmic, but Pixie says it sounds grounded enough and she cares about the characters. If she were in the main character's place she's also do whatever it would take to return to the real version of her friend. 

The story ends with Steph describing that the crew, Max, Chloe, Tristan, Rachel, Pixie and Steph have to return to face the storm head on. 

The next story opens with Alex Chan riding a bus with her headphones on. A brother and sister are arguing over a water bottle (the sister is tired of her brother doing everything for her) and she storms off to hit the bathroom. Alex can feel this and tries to keep herself together. The guy notices Alex and says hi to her. The guy apologizes if they woke her and he says the girl was his little sister. Alex says she understands since she is also a little sister. The guy apologizes for randomly talking to her, being a stranger and all, and Alex said she's had worse.

Just then the sister returns and Alex sees some images of how the girl is treated at home and how her brother is nice to her. Alex tells herself these are the girl's feelings and not her own. Alex tells him that his sister just wants to be trusted in her independence, to know she can make her own decisions. He says she's probably right. 

The girl, Kayla apologizes to her saying her brother means well. Alex says she's lucky to have him, she's on a trip to visit her own brother. Kayla asks why would she. Alex puts her headphones back on and is excited to see her brother Gabe. Her story will continue in the new game Life is Strange: True Colors.

My Opinions-

The first story was a bit confusing to write out, because this was about Steph and Pixie talking about a story they made up, that just so happens to be what's happening to Max in this new comic series. I am honestly surprised that there even was a comic series cause it seems there are already 3 volumes out. 

There's not much to say, except the general concept is explained. Max is somehow stuck in an alternate reality where Chloe and Rachel are both alive and dating and she has to somehow return to her own reality. For those that haven't played the first game, I won't spoil too much about Chloe, but I can at least say one of the subplots in the game was the disappearance of Rachel Amber. She is only mentioned several times in the game, but in 'Before the Storm' we get to see how Chloe met her and how they got close before she vanished. So seeing Max get to co-exist with Rachel already tells fans of the game that something odd is going on. 

I'll be sure to hunt these comics down. The art is decent. It's simple and it works, the characters do look like how I'd imagine they'd look like as comic book drawings. 

As for the other story, it's mostly set up for the new game. It seems Alex has deep empathy powers, she can sense someone's else's feeling and emotions and if she can't control them they'll affect her own emotions. We'll have to see how that works itself into the game play.

Another thing is that it appears Steph (who has already been in Before the Storm) will also be in the new game, I'm assuming a new friend for Alex to run into. I guess Max and Chloe run into her as well as Pixie in their comic book adventures. I doubt Steph will mention them in the new game but that would be a cool Easter Egg if they did. I know Life is Strange 2 and 3 are about different characters with different powers, but for many the series will always feel like it's about Max and Chloe. Seeing Easter Eggs about them in other games, or even people driving past Arcadia Bay or whatever wouldn't hurt.