Written by: Jeff Lemire
Art by: Dustin Nguyen
Publisher: Image
If you are anything like me then you have been waiting for this series since December. At the end of each year, comic labels begin announcing their upcoming titles in a mad dash to create what I can only express as – MASS COMIC BOOK FAN HYSTERIA. Okay, that could be a stretch. For me it is going to my local retailer and demanding a bunch of titles be added. If said titles are missing from my subscription list on release day, the arms start flailing and it’s a whole display. Especially if I didn’t get the cover I wanted/specifically requested. For me, Descender was the very first thing I added to my subscription list for 2015. So, how do I feel about it now that I hold issue #2?
I FEEL FANTASTIC. My expectations are being met! Considering my expectations consisted of riveting action and a story that makes me questions the lines of artificial sentience and cognitive thought (something my life often feels lacking), I’d say Jeff Lemire is spot on.
Jeff Lemire has an uncanny ability to tug at the heart strings while providing the action many of us crave from science fiction. While reading Descender I am reminded of the drama and success behind one his longest running series Sweet Tooth. I became overwhelmingly concerned with the well-being of this little robot boy Tim. A good writer can make you care about the well-being of fictional characters and even fictional robots right?
Artwork wise, I knew that Dustin would be spot on. Anything this guy touches is a work of art regardless of what story it builds around. So I had no worries concerning the artwork whatsoever. He couldn’t disappoint me if he tried. His use of watercolor makes even the most desolate mining colony of any distant planet take your breath away (literally, there’s no oxygen on this planet).
As one of Image comics most anticipated and hyped up titles of the year, Descender does not disappoint. If you are not getting the singles you’ve made a grave error because I can see story turning into one for the film world.
