Descender: Vol #1
Writer by Jeff Lemire
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Image Comics
I’ve mentioned it before, but I am proudly Canadian, so I am always excited to read books by Canadian authors. Jeff Lemire is Canadian, and his work is always worth a read.
DC’s Green Arrow was a mess until they handed Lemire the reins and he made it readable.
Sweet Tooth is a Lemire product, and it is so quirky, strange and dark that it is delectable.
Descender is another title Lemire fans, all the fans of great comic reading, need to pick up.
In a future world robots are a part of life that is until some giant versions arrive and kill millions on several planets.
In true human form people react badly, destroying robots enmasse.
But on a deserted moon a child’s companion Tim-21 awakes after years of sleep.
When he accesses the computer system it is recognized he has the same core programming of the dreaded ‘Harvester’ robots that had appeared, killed and disappeared.
As you might expect a lot of different people want to dig around in Tim-21’s circuits to see what they can learn.
It’s a rollicking good tale of the chase, capture, possible rescue in this volume which collects issues #1- #6 of the regular run. It’s a great adventure story.
But this one is made better by the art of Dustin Nguyen. He has created what at least looks like a watercolour masterpiece. Nguyen uses the soft colours so effectively. He could have opted for more sharply defined images, but this is better in that it is a more distinct look for the title. It might not be everyone’s favoured approach, but it is one you will remember.
Overall this is a title that could, with minimal tweaking, be a kid’s cartoon, and yet there are big picture themes at work too. Things like Tim-21 apparently dreaming. Robots aren’t supposed to be able to dream.
And the whole mankind over reacting with its robot culling. I can’t help but draw a parallel to how many are over reacting to the Syrian refugee issues based on the Paris attacks. Of course the best stories touch real life realities in their telling, and this is among the best stories.
Black Jack Ketchum #1
Written by Brian Schirmer
Art by Claudia Balboni
Image Comics
This is, at its heart, a western.
That really should be all the review needed. Who doesn’t like a western? Discounting the horrible fare of John Wayne; we are talking the realm of Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, Clint Eastwood and Django which is enough to grab my attention.
So I jumped into Brian Schirmer’s rather enthusiastically.
And what did I find, a story of the old west with a mystical overlay. Whoa, old Nelly, slow down here just a bit. Are you kidding me? Like Pretty Deadly, from the same publisher, we have western and magic of a kind intertwining. At this point I was a fan, just sign me up for the duration of the series.
Oh yes the storyline, a case of apparent mistaken identity has the lead character on the run as forces hunt him as being BlackJack Ketchum who they want to see hung.
The chase passes through a few portals, gets a bit surreal at the and, and is overall just a great romp.
I want more, and more and more.
