Writen by: Michael Moreci
Art by: Vic Malhorta
Publisher: Image
Three issues in and Roche Limit seems to have found its groove. Moreci and Malhorta are working really well together as creators and the series is chugging along very nicely. There isn’t much more to be said that hasn’t been said in my other reviews as this series continues to be a lot of fun and highly enjoyable.
The characters and world are still being nicely fleshed out and continue to be one of the book’s strong points. What’s interesting is my changing perception on the main character Alex Ford; while initially he seemed like a fun action hero straight out of Fraction’s Hawkeye, the more time we spend with the character the more mysterious and withdrawn he seems. I’m excited to see where Moreci goes with this as it seems the more details we learn about Ford the more mysterious he becomes.
One of my main criticisms last issue was that a lot of the sub-plots of the book felt too busy and unrelated to the main plot; while there was still some confusion in this issue regarding how certain events were playing out a lot of the overarching plots start to cross over with each other and it definitely seems like we’re building towards something. With Moreci choosing to focus more on developing the current plots than adding new ones it greatly added to my enjoyment of the issue and added some genuine suspense as I wondered where the stories will end up. Much like the characterisation and mysteries of Ford, I’m highly intrigued to see where these stories go, rather than feeling overwhelmed like last time.
Malhorta continues his consistently great art work on the series with his usual flair for mixing the grand and mundane, but also gets the chance to stretch his legs a little further this issue by drawing some very different environments than usual. Each new location feels unique and different and as a result makes the world of Roche Limit feel more varied and interesting rather than just the crime filled slums glimpsed so far.
Overall, if you’ve been enjoying this series so far then there’s nothing here to deter you from reading on and enjoying the ride. It definitely feels like this series knows what it wants to do and is now putting the pieces in place to do it. We’re going somewhere, and this issue manages to be stronger than the last by focusing on expanding what elements are in play rather than throwing a lot of things at you. This series still comes highly recommended and is a blast to read.
