Parents:  What would you do if you discovered that your 7-year-old child had super powers?  How would you handle raising & disciplining him/her?  How would you keep them safe?

Dennis Liu has begun to tackle just that thought in the book, Raising Dion.  This story is about a young single mother (Nicole), who is raising her young super-powered son (Dion).  Dion has developed the power to not only become invisible & shoot plasma from his hands, but also to move objects with his mind.  Told from the mother’s perspective, Raising Dion shows the issues that face mother & son, as Nicole learns how to care for Dion & keep him safe after she begins to notice that she & Dion are being tailed by strange men in suits.  Additionally, Nicole needs to ensure that Dion can be set on the right moral path, to avoid him using his powers for nefarious & selfish purposes.  In an effort to mitigate this, Nicole begins to study her son’s powers by enlisting her late husband’s best friend, (who happens to be an aspiring filmmaker), to film Dion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Jason Piperburg’s art style adds a very “Archie meets Men In Black” feel to this book.  His use of color & motion really bring forward the semi-bucolic setting of Nicole & Dion’s suburban neighborhood, while his talent at creating believable expressions on the characters really details the intense emotion experienced by Nicole as a mother.

According to Dennis Liu’s website, the first issue of the book can be downloaded for free.  However, if a hard copy of it is purchased, all the proceeds go to the production of the next issue(s).  Additionally, Liu has directed a short film trailer to better illustrate the story.

I will be keeping a close eye on the production of this book, as the viewpoint & story is very intriguing to me.  I’m hoping that this book will get more exposure, as it’s refreshing to see a new take on the superhero origin story.