Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Matteo Scalera
Publisher: Image
Rick and Matteo deliver another issue, this one filled to the brim with questions and the promises of answers seems farther and farther in the distance. Do we trust these creators to blindly follow them down the (beautiful) rabbit hole they’ve weaved? The one answer we can be presented with is a resounding yes.
This issue is a hard one to describe, as it changes viewpoints three different times in the story and all of these plot threads aren’t directly connected with one another in any foreseeably tangible way. This issue is a rumination on the power of potential circumstances, ones that come to light and ones that can dematerialize before our very eyes, set within the beautifully abstract and terrifying sci-fi world that Rick and Matteo have weaved for nine issues. The first arc we are presented with some of Rebecca’s backstory, revealing that she had a twin who may have been killed due to her own indiscretions in her childhood(Remender and Co. leave it vague for now). The first page of issue #9 almost sums up it’s thesis entirely, with a wide, beautifully haunted vista that young Rebecca is roaming with the only prose present stating “I’m gonna find you!”.
This remains an incredible beat of storytelling from both creators as at first glance this page does not seem entirely important but in actuality sums up how far we’ve come with these characters, how dire their circumstances remain, and how more and more it seems unlikely that they will actually be ‘found’. This one line echoes so many characters in the series perfectly that it’s shocking (Grant, His Wife, Grant’s children, Kadir etc.). Speaking of these characters, this issue also opens up another slew of questions in it’s final arc, depicting a gorgeously rendered chase sequence between a new Kadir(?) and an unknown pursuer. This opens up a plethora of new questions as we (the reader) are entirely unaware of which version Remender and Scalera are showing us and leaving it entirely vague and unanswerable as to when the original versions are going to be found.
Black Science #9 is another step into the dark, deep, labyrinth that these two wonderful creators have crafted and while it may be a little frustrating for the reader as it’s hard to discern where, when, and who is being depicted, we can place our trust in them to pull through all the answers eventually. Here’s to us faithful readers placing our trust in these creators for another 16 issues.
