Morning Glories 1

Morning Glories 1 is the inaugural issue of Morning Glories. It was first released on August 10, 2010. It went through five printings and had four variant covers.
==Solicitation==
GEM OF THE MONTH
The most anticipated new series of the year starts here! Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country… But behind it's hallowed doors something sinister and deadly lurks. When six brilliant but troubled new students arrive, they find themselves trapped and desperately seeking answers in a place where nothing is what it seems to be!
DOUBLE SIZED FIRST ISSUE, 44 FULL PAGES OF STORY FOR JUST $3.99! IT'S RUNAWAYS MEETS LOST! FROM THE WRITER OF EXISTENCE 2.0, FORGETLESS, AND SHUDDERTOWN!
==Synopsis==
A man impatiently taps his foot, staring at a piece of paper with the words “For a Better Future” written on it. He folds it up as a woman in scrubs approaches him. He asks “Is she alright?”, but the hospital worker just asks that he come with her.
At Morning Glory Academy, Georgina Daramount is discussing an upcoming science fair with her students when she notices Akiko passing a note. Akiko is asked to speak about her project. Akiko discusses her work with nitrogen triiodide, a volatile explosive. Daramount realizes too late that Akiko has coated the blackboard with it.
The chalkboard explodes when Daramount tries to use it. Akiko attempts to escape through the window, but she is apprehended by the security team. Daramount realizes Akiko is just a diversion, and orders a head count to determine who is missing.
Brendan and Vanessa run through the halls during the commotion. Before they split up, they kiss. Brendan fights his way through several members of the security team before crashing through a window to a room with a giant spinning object. He notices a table with a small notebook on it. As he reads something about Vanessa, a ghostly figure puts its hand through Brendan’s head.
Daramount arrives with fellow teacher Reginald Gribbs. Daramount asks if Gribbs will stop “it” to save Brendan’s life, but Gribbs relays a message from the Headmaster that Brendan is “not one of them”. Gribbs mentions that he has high hopes for the students arriving the next day.
The next day, in Chicago, Dan Blevins comes downstairs to find his wife Kath. Kath is upset that their daughter, Casey, is leaving for Morning Glory Academy on her sixteenth birthday. Dan tries to cheer her up before shouting up the stairs for Casey to get ready to go. Kath informs him that she is already waiting for him in the car, as Casey honks the horn.
In Manhattan, Ike is having a meal with his mother, Cynthia. She presses him for answers on how he “tricked” his way into the school, citing Ike’s numerous schemes over the years. She finally asks Ike, “Did you kill him?” Ike asks if she bought him a birthday present, and she storms out of the room.
In San Diego, Zoe breaks up with at least five boys, asking them to wait for her. She returns to her car, now filled with gifts, and excitedly wonders about the new boys she will meet at the school.
In Toronto, Hunter is watching his stepbrother, Andy, with a video game. Andy calls him “Uncle Hunter”, forcing Hunter to explain that he is not Andy’s uncle. Hunter’s father walks in, asking if Hunter needs money. Hunter explains he saved up from his summer job before telling Andy that he is leaving him some comic books under his bed. Hunter says goodbye to his father, who waves absentmindedly as he makes a phone call.
In Des Moines, Jade Ellsworth is writing in her journal about her sadness for being sent to the school. As she writes, her father and her brother, Jimmy, discuss with each other her behavior, and mention Jade had been accused of stalking a teacher. They surmise that the teacher might have helped with her acceptance to the school as a way to get away from her.
Jun Fukayama arrives in New York, noticing a man, Albert, carrying a sign with an anagram of his name. Albert asks if that gives Jun the right to claim the name for himself, before quickly dismissing the question and escorting Jun to the car. As Albert speaks about new beginnings, Jun falls asleep.
Jade, Hunter, Ike, Zoe, and Casey all fall asleep during their respective trips as well, all driven by Albert. Casey is woken and greeted by Daramount when she arrives at Morning Glory Academy. They discuss the school’s reputation as they walk through the halls, while the security team removes Brendan’s body behind them. The ghostly figure that killed him follows them briefly, but seems to stop when Daramount shoots it a look.
Casey arrives at an orientation held by Susan Dagney. She sits beside Ike, and takes an immediate dislike to him. The slides in the presentation include bizarre images such as the spinning object Brendan saw, an old man with a cane, and a flashed image of a man killing a goat in front of a crying child. When Hunter asks Zoe if she saw that, she dismisses him for not being “cute enough to talk to”.
Hunter realizes Ike and Jun are his roommates. He confesses his nervousness with being at a new school, but Jun advises Hunter to stay close if anything happens. Ike makes a joke about them, and Jun tells Ike to stay away from him. Meanwhile, Casey, Zoe, and Jade meet Pamela, an incredibly energetic girl who is also their RA and roommate.
Jade realizes she has forgotten her notebook and calls her father, who claims not to know her, insisting he does not have a daughter. He tells her not to call back.
Casey bumps into Hunter in the hallway, causing both to drop their papers. She covers her face, having “just lived through the most clichéd moment in romantic comedy history”, and does not want to see him to avoid any tension as she is not looking for a relationship. As she walks away, Hunter confesses to Ike that he might have just fallen in love.
Casey returns to her room to find Jade crying on the floor. Jade explains what happened before revealing it is her birthday. Casey says it is her own birthday too. Zoe dismisses it as just being a coincidence. When asked, she says it’s not her birthday, but mentions she was adopted, so she got to pick her own.
After checking with Hunter, Jun and Ike, Casey discovers they all share the same birthday. She confronts Pamela about it, who reveals it was part of the review board’s decision, suggesting that she does not need to understand much of what the school does, just to accept it.
Casey relents, but asks about the situation with Jade’s father. Pamela leads Casey down to the basement, explaining that Jade’s father not remembering her is a process the school encourages to help support the children’s separation from their parents. Casey is appalled, saying that her parents would never agree to that. Pamela agrees, as they enter a room with Casey’s parents hanging from the wall, dead.
==Characters==
===Featured===
*The Glories
**Casey Blevins
**Ike
**Zoe
**Hunter
**Jade Ellsworth
**Hisao Fukayama
*Ms. Daramount
*Mr. Gribbs
===Supporting Characters===
*Akiko
*Vanessa
*Brendan
*David
*Dan Blevins
*Kathy Blevins
*Andy
*Jimmy Ellsworth
*Albert
*Miss Dagney
*Pamela
==Trivia==
See also: Easter eggs and Cameos
*From the airport scene: Carlton Cuse is the co-creator of Lost and George Markstein is the co-creator of The Prisoner.
==Cultural References==
See also: Cultural References
*Hunter gives his step brother his copies of Grant Morrison comic books. The Invisibles, A book about secret agents and overlapping universes , is pointed out as the place to start.
*Hunter and his step brother are playing GTA4
*Ike's "Brokeback bunkbeds" crack is a reference to the movie Brokeback Mountain, a movie about gay cowboys. This may be evidence of Ike's "gaydar" since Hisao is in fact a homosexual.
*Zoe is reading "Teen Cosmo".  However, Cosmo's actual teen magazine is named Cosmogirl.
==Questions==
===Answered Questions===
*What was the purpose of Akiko, Vanessa, and Brendan's plan? Answer
*Who is the man with the "for a better future" note and who is he worried about? Answer
===Unanswered Questions===
*Why is Brendan "not one of them"?
*Why is Brendan so proficient at defending himself from the guards?
*What is the Cylinder? Is that it in one of the presentation video's pictures?  If so, why?
*What did Brendan read in the notebook?
*What is the creature that kills Brendan?
*Why does Jade's father does not remember her?
*Why does the presentation video begin and (perhaps) ends with seemingly extraneous scenes of two people and a goat?
==Quotes==
==Variant covers==
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==References==
==External links==
*Morning Glories #1, Image Comics
*Morning Glories Study Hall #1 at Multiversity Comics
*Morning Glories #1 (Digital Comics) at Imagecomics.com
Morning Glories 01
Category:Hunter/Appearances
Category:Casey Blevins/Appearances
Category:Zoe/Appearances
Category:Jade/Appearances
Category:Georgina Daramount/Appearances
Category:Ike/Appearances
Category:Akiko/Appearances
Category:Vanessa Richmond/Appearances
Category:Brendan/Appearances
Category:Albert/Appearances
Category:Cynthia/Appearances
Category:Dan Blevins/Appearances
Category:Kathy Blevins/Appearances
Category:Pamela/Appearances
Category:Susan Dagney/Appearances
Category:David/Appearances
Category:Cylinder/Appearances
Category:Andy/Appearances
Category:Hunter's Father/Appearances
Category:Angela/Appearances
Category:Hisao Fukayama/Appearances
Category:Jade Ellsworth/Appearances
Category:Jimmy Ellsworth/Appearances
Category:Jim Ellsworth/Appearances
Category:Benjamin Gerhardt/Appearances