IDW Publishing
Written & Lettered by Ryan Ferrier
Illustrated by Valentin Ramon
There really is something over the top about all this that makes it incredibly fun to be reading. Sure D4VE is running around trying to come up with a plan to stop the alien invasion and he’s second guessing himself because he’s been out action for so long add to this he’s got Scotty with him who takes every opportunity to bust a nut and bolt keeps things fresh. Ryan has managed to take this seemingly weird and flipped tale of human survival on its ears and breathed a new life into the narrative.
Robot’s driving cars and D4VE driving an old beat up yellow bug is fantastic sstuff. So D4VE was scheduled for termination since the incident at his office with his boss, yeah knocking his head off while feeling good wasn’t his best idea, and they’ve caught up to him here and he and Scotty go on the run till Scotty does his teenage I think this is a good idea thing. I love that this is a bonding experience between them it’s just odd couple enough for a father/son learning respect for one another kind of thing.
We get a look at what the aliens are doing and they seem to be having some fun as they take their time destroying robots for fun. I mean you can tell they aren’t hand to hand combatants and it’s fun and funny to watch them in action, plus the dialogue just makes me smile and chuckle here. As does his old boss’s thoughts on what’s happening, oh and Valentin does some beautiful and amazing stuff here that’s unexpected and seeing a robot in a neck brace yeah that’s a high point here too.
After being such a fearsome foe the robots have become so docile with all that programming either removed of letting it lay dormant that they have no will to resist. On one hand it’s such a let down and on the other complacency is a terrible thing and we see the results of that here. As the Queen of these creatures needs a place to breed and is being led to a specific place just for that to happen.
You’d think with everything that happens in this issue makes it feel crowded but it really is done in such a great progression that you don’t feel like anything is rushed or arbitrary it all has this natural sequence to it that makes sense. Though I was really hoping he wasn’t dropping Scotty off with S4LLY and that the kid would end up with him. Still there’s great dialogue and characterization here and I’m really impressed with how the pacing Ryan is able to do.
Not only that but everything D4VE has to go through this issue to get back to the man he used to be is the kind of reading material that makes for gripping stuff. There really is so much that happens this issue that you have take time to read it so you can soak it all up. This is far from a quick read and that is wonderful to me.
Add to the mix that you’ve got this amazingly talented artist in Valentin bringing it all to life with such creativity and imagination makes it all the better. He’s just as able to infuse humor into the robot's actions alongside the action to create that sense of drama and humanity needed to really empathize with D4VE.
IDW really has something special here and it really solidifies their dominance in the world of science fiction storytelling.