I really liked it Life is strangeand cried along with the rest of the players when the game's final episode forced me to choose between saving Max Caulfield's best friend-turned-girlfriend Chloe or saving her hometown of Arcadia Bay. Like many players, I selfishly decided to save Chloe and spent years wondering what the two of them did after leaving their destroyed home at the end of the game. As it turns out, this very scenario is the basis for Titan Comics. Life is Strange, Volume 1: Dust. The first installment in the graphic novel series was originally published back in 2018 and will be re-released in a Deluxe Edition hardcover on November 25th.
If you were like me by the way, I'm upset Life is Strange: Double Exposure treats Chloea graphic novel will calm what's bothering you. Written by Emma Vieceli and illustrated by Claudia Leonardi. Dust gives us a glimpse into Max and Chloe's life after the hurricane. Wracked with guilt, the couple left Arcadia Bay and moved to Seattle, where they began a new life together. After seeing the destruction caused by Max's ability to rewind time (and the negative impact these abilities had on Max's health), the girls decided to live like normal people – no more repetitions.
“Life is what it is, and we will accept it as it is,” says Chloe.
But after a year of living in Seattle, problems arise. When Max and Chloe attend a pirate-themed costume party, Chloe begins talking about her mother and stepfather as if they were still alive. Chloe quickly returns to reality, but, unfortunately, does not remember the conversation about her parents. These strange moments begin to happen more often, and Max ends up with a nosebleed every time, even though she hasn't used her powers. After another anomalous conversation (which the girls call a “flicker”) causes Chloe to temporarily disappear, the pair decide to return to Arcadia Bay to try to figure out the source of the problem.
Interesting, Dust actually answers a question I've had for a very long time: did Max's timeline-altering abilities actually cause the storm that destroyed Arcadia Bay? The game certainly suggests that this is the case, but it doesn't mean that a storm is bearing down on Max and verbally demanding that she choose between her girlfriend and her hometown. There's no conclusive answer – at least not in the first volume – but Chloe seems to think it's all bullshit.
“To believe that our shitty personal lives can lead to destruction on this level is narcissism,” she declares after seeing Arcadia Bay for the first time in a year. She's right.
Life is Strange Volume 1: Dust that's all I wanted Double exposure be. While the first volume doesn't answer all the questions, it does address a lot of the loose ends the first game left hanging in the wind, and includes fan-favorite characters like Chloe's late ex, Rachel Amber, whose murder Max and Chloe uncover throughout the first game. Rather than dismissing Chloe's existence by declaring that she and Max had “broken up,” the graphic novel series dares to ask (and answer) many of the tough questions players were left with at the end. Life is strange. Dust is beautifully illustrated, and the Deluxe Edition also includes some glossy full-page stills from the game.
Overall, it's an intriguing page-turner, and while the first volume ends on a surprisingly optimistic note, the final sentence of the novel hints at new timeline-altering problems on the horizon with the familiar refrain from the original game: “This action will have consequences.”
