IDW Publishing 2016
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Max Dunbar
Coloured by David Garcia-Cruz
Lettered by Tom B. Long
So last issue Oz and his team were well let’s say hired, tasked with a mission and were told to take Larissa with them on the job. Only everyone seems to have been lied to about what’s really going on with this station. Things quickly got to a point where the team found themselves outside in space and that’s where we pick things up.
I’m far more into this than I had thought i’d be. It could be because i’m a fan of Cullen’s and the story he’s writing, the way he’s doing the characterization and unveiling what’s going on in this universe is simply strong. I like what we see here as the story really starts to get underway and the characters begin to see more of what they aren’t supposed to, consequently finding themselves between a rock and a hard place, they become more likable.
Now not ever having seen a toy in my life, that I can recall and not having read any of the previous incarnations of the comics I think what is happening here is quite fun. Now there’s the usual good versus evil, though who’s who depends on who you speak to, we’ve seen the universe is dying but we don’t know exactly why just a portion of how and the character designs remind of the Saturday Morning Cartoons I grew up with. So all in all this is a really nice and many layered book that should make older fans happy and for younger fans just finding this they’ll enjoy it purely for what the creators of the book bring.
Max and David do a wonderful job on the interiors here. Just the fact we can start off in space make planetfall, freefall style, and then see the terrain, alien lifeforms and consequently those who know where they are what they are doing all flowing through the pages and panels here is mightily impressive. The amount of action that we see throughout the issue really kind of quickens the pace even though the page count is standard to it reads kind of quickly and it’s extremely exciting.
As the story unfolds not only for the characters but us the readers we see some great dialogue and characterization happening. Larissa may have been forced to join Oz and his crew but it’s very easy to see that she’ll be remaining with them when all this is over. She does add a certain something to the rag tag team and a smart character, let alone a smart and capable woman, isn’t to be underrated. That we also get to see more of Microtron and his personality is just an added bonus, he’s a cheeky monkey for sure and I like it!
I think it’s kind of amazing that you can take a toy line and turn it into this whole universe rife for exploration reviving it and making it one of the more interesting and unique offerings in comics today. There really is a lot going on here and with multiple layers to the story that we see alongside the cast of characters only serves to get the reader more involved with what’s happening. This is how you tell stories, take something old and make it new again while thrilling audiences both old and established.