Our Songs Are Better: Part 5
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| “Our Songs Are Better: Part 5” | |||||||||||||
| First published | June 7, 2017 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Kelly Thompson | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Jenn St-Onge | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | M. Victoria Robado | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Shawn Lee | ||||||||||||
| Edits by | Sarah Gaydos | ||||||||||||
To protect Roxy, Jetta reveals her biggest secret!
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
To protect Roxy from the embarrassment of having her illiteracy exposed to the entire world, Jetta has offered to reveal her biggest secret to Lisa and Ellen. In fact, she's revealing both of her biggest secrets. Not only has her real name been Prudence, but this entire time she's been lying about being British! In the days that follow the airing of the episode where she makes these revelations, the other Misfits find themselves being hounded by paparazzi wanting to know their take on this turn of events. As she returns home, Pizzazz angrily demands to know where Jetta is, wanting to confront her during the film crew's rare absence from the house. Finding her out by the pool, Jetta's nonplussed attitude regarding the fallout from her revelations only angers Pizzazz more, as does the fact that she's still talking with her affected British accent. Remaining composed, Jetta explains that as far as she's concerned she really is a Brit named Sheila Burns. However, she knows that won't be enough for Pizzazz and begins to elaborate as the other Misfits begin to gather round...
At age 3, Jetta sits on the floor of her kitchen in Savannah, Georgia while her singer mother bakes and listens to her favorite Joan Armatrading song... the same song that played at her funeral 4 years later. With her mother gone, the young Jetta felt as though the sun had gone out in not only her life but the life of her father as well who was especially hit hard by the death of his wife. With him no longer able to raise her, Jetta wound up in the care of his sister, the Prudence she was inexplicably named after. Having never been a fan of Jetta's mother, Aunty Pru did her best to destroy any aspects of her niece that were like her mother, wanting make sure Jetta would end up as soulless and miserable as she was. Unfortunately for her, Jetta's favorite parts of herself were the parts of her that were like her mother, such as her budding passion for music. This lead to the two of them constantly fighting and arguing all throughout Jetta's teenage years until she finally up and left at the age of 16.
Hopping on a plane heading towards London with a guitar on her back, Jetta was quick to drop the name she'd been given at birth and started going by Sheila instead. With a new name and a new country, Sheila truly felt like a new person, like she could shape herself into whoever she wanted to be. After becoming a member of The Tinkerbillies, Sheila realized she couldn't go back to being Prudence even if she wanted to at this point. The only part of her old life that she kept was her new stage name: Jetta, the name her mother had always called her instead of her "real" name. With no particular attachment to her home country, Jetta only returned to the US for the first time when her band went on tour there and for the second time when her father passed away later that same year. At his funeral, none of her family recognized her, something that only felt natural to her, taking it as proof that she really had changed and it was too late to look back. Concluding her origin story, Jetta says that she's become exactly who she wants to be, especially now that she's become one of The Misfits.
When Stormer asks why Jetta didn't tell this whole story on the show instead of just dropping those truth bombs out of context, she explains that she feels that she doesn't owe the world an explanation but she did owe one to her family. Pizzazz, meanwhile, can't understand why Jetta would come forward with this in the first place. Just then, Roxy suddenly speaks up and says that it was because of her. Deciding that she trusts her bandmates enough to come clean, Roxy explains to them that she can't read and that Jetta came forward to protect her from the reality show crew exposing this. Overcome with emotion, Pizzazz, Blaze, and Stormer all tearfully embrace their bandmate just as Eric Raymond arrives to tell them to get ready for their appearance on Lin-Z Pierce's show. Shocked at the sight of them all hugging and crying, Eric asks what's going on and is invited into the group hug by Stormer, an invitation he absolutely refuses.
Later, after the premiere of the video for their new song "Not For The Faint", Lin-Z interviews Pizzazz about The Misfits seeming comeback after all the setbacks they've faced recently, including losing their label, having their most recent tour cut short, and the scandal surrounding Jetta's revelations. Feeling like it's only natural that they've come back in a "big, badass way", Pizzazz answers Lin-Z's question about when people will be able to buy The Misfits' newest single with another announcement: that it'll be available next week courtesy of the band's new label... Misfits Music!
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| The Misfits | Others |
|---|---|
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"Ellen, what should we do?"
"You're asking me?! I didn't even know she knew our names, I'm terrified right now."
- -Lisa and Ellen debate giving into Jetta's demands.
"Oh god. Who died?"
"Nobody. It's a good hug... mostly. Come join us."
"Uh. No way. This better not be the new Misfits. I can't handle the tear-soaked hugging on a daily basis. I'm not managing Jem and the Holograms for chrissake."
- -Eric Raymond will have no part of this lovey-dovey, hugging and supporting business, thank you very much.
"What can I say, Lin-Z? Badass is what The Misfits do."
- -Pizzazz
Notes[edit | edit source]
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- The Misfits premiere their new song on Lin-Z Pierce's show which they also appeared on all the way back in Jem and the Holograms' second issue. Several of the commenters who had their tweets appear on the show also had their tweets appear back in that issue as well!
Jem references[edit | edit source]
- On Lin-Z Pierce's show, Pizzazz, Stormer, and Jetta are all dressed in outfits inspired by their original dolls' outfits.
- The Tinkerbillies were also the name of Jetta's old band in the original Jem cartoon.
Real life references[edit | edit source]
- Jetta's mother was a fan of British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading and this issue contains lyrics from her 1980 song Me Myself I.
- One of the commenters on Lin-Z Pierce's show has the user name "@Mooncalfe0019", a reference to IDW Jem artist Sophie Campbell's Twitter name].
Errors[edit | edit source]
Other trivia[edit | edit source]
Covers (3)[edit | edit source]
- Regular cover: Jetta, by M. Victoria Robado
- Subscription cover: The Misfits, by Jenn St-Onge
- Retailer incentive cover: Jetta, by Jen Bartel
