Letter 44 #16 Review

Written by: Charles Soule

Art by: Alberto Alburquerque

Publisher: Oni Press

Letter 44 is the best comic you’re not reading. Having written that, it’s important to note that it is also a very dense read. There are wheels within wheels moving the plot forward, and there are a lot of characters to keep with. Like The Newsroom mixed with equal parts X-Files, Soule’s writing deftly combines political intrigue with the (just revealed to the world) threat of aliens.

What I have enjoyed most about Letter 44’s recent developments is that Soule is not content to focus on aliens or the US president, but this is truly a global concern now. Unfortunately, humans being humans, the earth doesn’t unite against the new threat but instead mankind turns on each other before the new life forms can even make a move against them. Sad, but the story also rings true in more ways than this reader cares to admit. The good news is that Soule isn’t afraid to shy away from these sordid details, no matter how dark this World War 3 portrayal becomes.

Can a baby be cute and disturbing? Yes.

The crew of the Clarke continues to have trouble acclimating to their new surroundings on the chandelier this month. Astra, the genius baby, has now become the strangest thing in this comic and I’m including metallic aliens and a human who is now half alien glassware (maybe). She began speaking to Charlotte in last month’s issue and now we’re learning more about her relationship with the aliens. This part was especially important because it means the aliens have clear reasons for choosing to come to the Milky Way and they have the capability of not only communicating with other species, but they have the ability and desire to actually change humans also. I can’t imagine most members of The Clarke are going to like that tampering, even if it seems benign that a baby has learned to talk years early.

The president ends up in some hot water this issue as well, but I don’t want to get into spoilers here. Suffice to say that the president still has a pretty good left hook and his wife is every bit as tough. Again, one page the president is dealing with impeachment hearings, then his wife is cheating on him in order to secure his legacy, then he’s beating some guy up. You can’t say the guy has had it easy so far.

I’ve loved Letter 44 from the start. Check out the first volume and get caught up as soon as you can. Issue 16 simply confirms what I’ve known since issue 1—Soule has a great ear for dialogue, the aliens may not be the greatest threat in this book, and backstabbing never gets old.