Image Comics 2017
By Ken Garing
Years have passed and life on The Slab has changed. Aden and his friends explore a black market trading post, while Onica and Nkunda confront an entirely new force that has descended upon the planetoid.
Well I was looking forward to seeing the aftermath of the first issue which unfortunately we don’t get the chance for. It’s eight years after the last issue and the kids have grown up and dealt with what happened and moved on. I’d get annoyed at Ken if this was so gosh darn entertaining and his own brand of mad genius storytelling wasn’t so good. Seriously it really is good stuff and that Ken decided the right thing to do was move ahead a number of years and then show how the kids personalities are as they’ve grown well it’s something to appreciate.
Zuri was devastated that her parents killed the stranger who came in peace, so he claimed. Now as she and her father are out hunting they stumble across a new development on the Slab’s surface. They’ve got new neighbors setting up shop. I’m going to enjoy learning how the magnetic field has changed and allowed for new folks to come to the Slab and start a new city. Also how this city and what it represents is going to affect not only the settlement but all the ones that were formed by those who left it.
This issue we get to see a few of the teenagers exploring a black market outpost and we get to see how those that left the settlement feel about it and how they’ve managed to prosper. Ken has this way of showing things as they are that let us see how things have progressed without having to explain things and it makes the reader use their mind to think it through. This kind of interaction is what makes reading this so darn interesting.
Also the man’s attention to detail here is utterly amazing. I mean the Slab’s surface is so mechanical and seeing the way he makes it look and come to life for us blows me away. Also seeing a new city emerging on the surface it’s weird and fascinating and makes your mind race because it all seems so sterile on the surface. Also his characters have these personalities in their faces and body language that make them so appealing.
The split focus here on the kids, well okay teenagers at various stages, and the settlement itself we get to see how differently the generations see things. Also before Zuri and her father can get back it seems the settlement is gifted a little something from their new neighbors. Onica doesn’t seem too happy with this and recognises the logo. So I do like that old prejudices are hard to shake here. The younger generations seem to be more willing to reach out and at least try to see if things are workable whereas Onica and hers seem to automatically go to worst case scenario. I mean granted the past shapes our present but after all these years at least use skepticism instead of hatred to base your judgment.
There’s a social commentary in this alongside some stellar science fiction storytelling. Ken’s really got a way with how he’s able to tell a tale and make it both entertaining and provide a deeper meaning if you want to see it.