Top Cow Productions/Image Comics
By Raffaele Ienco
Last issue the old man and Gibbons left the prototype where Minelli was killed. We also learned a few surprising twists to what we think is the alien invasion that has swept the earth as well as the sentient A.I. having taken control of it’s own programming. Now Proto’s creator has been targeted for treason and suddenly the world has been turned upside and inside out.
This issue opens up with a young boy named Ben having found Proto and he’s taking him to his home. Meanwhile it seems that in the city that ground forces are being called out in force for some sort of mission.
The boy, Ben, talks to Proto and reveals all about his world. He’s been orphaned living in an abandoned building all by his lonesome after having buried his father on the grounds. He’s created a makeshift grave and what happens next will change both you and Proto forever. Out of the mouths of babes right Ben doesn’t use subterfuge or double speak he just talks about his life, his experiences and what his father taught him. This is under those parameters that Proto was built for to learn about humans and what he learns should be enough to melt even the most hardened transistors inside his robotic hear. Heaven knows what Raffaele delivers here from this boy is astonishingly powerful in it’s simplicity and frank honesty. I was almost moved to tears myself.
Then it made me think on what we’ve learned and what Dr. Thomas J Burg was told by Six. When that conversation took place he was watched and reported on so it should come as no surprise that he’s being arrested now and should he resist that would be met with lethal force. Not even Six can apparently save him now nor his precious Proto. Then again if he’s killed what becomes of his Prototype? Is there anyone else that knows enough about it to control it or find a way to communicate with it once he’s gone? Quite the quandary isn’t it then again may that’s why troops are heading out to find it and eliminate it.
This story is amazing, it’s pacing is wonderful and what we see here we only guess the true motives behind. Yes from what we’ve learned we can put together hypotheses about what we think are reasons but until they are spoken it’s anyone’s guess. The kind of tension it gives you is delicious and infuriating at the same time. It’s quite effective in ensuring you keep coming back to find out the real reasons behind some of the actions we see take place.
That he’s writing and illustrating this should be commended. The interiors present exactly what it is he wants us to see while the story unfolds. The way he uses page layouts with the angles, perspective and backgrounds to control the flow of the story is gorgeously done. The rain effect through it all is one of those touches that really stands out and helps with the tone and feel of what we should be experiencing.
This an amazing series and story that’s unravelling before us. The intrigue and actions we see take place set the stage for what’s coming and that we don’t know what that is is a true highlight.