Planetoid #4 Story, Art, Lettering: Ken Garing
Solicitation and Preview
Review
This is a penultimate issue and it feels like it towards the end. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is your basic setting everything up for the conclusion next issue.
This issue isn't without some small surprises and some big ideas. For example, we get to see Mendel again, who was the old man that helped Silas out in the second issue. It honestly feels like ages since we last saw him, if only because so much time has passed in the book.
One of the big ideas that I found intriguing is that the Slab is basically a building made by a giant 3-D printer. That is freaking cool! Imagine that, an entire city built out of a 3-D printer.
This comic also reveals a bit of a secret that Silas has. He and Mendel exchange a death bed confessional (that's not a spoiler, you could see that coming a mile away) where Silas basically says he was a slave trader. That is an interesting turn character reveal, but I'm not sure if it was really warranted. Maybe it will work better with a reveal next issue or in the next mini-series (if we get to see more of this world), but it has seriously been so long since I read the first issue that it seems like a weird point.
This issue continues to bring show some consistently great art. The one complaint I have in the art is that some scenes seemed to be stretched out a little bit. Sometimes it was for dramatic effect, but other times it just felt a little unnecessary. In the end, it all came together to be able to fit in with any other issue seamlessly.
There isn't any place to go from here but to see an eventual war. And since Silas' gun is now MIA, it is going to take an interesting turn from here. Maybe Mendel's fate will be shared by Silas, or maybe he will stand his ground and fight. My one request would be to show the Ono Mao has more than a one-dimensional type of villain. I understood how they were acting when they were all robots, but since we got an intelligent, organic looking leader for them, I was hoping to see some more depth. At least it will give me something to look forward to the next issue.
Grades
Words: 7/10
Pictures: 8/10
Buy Next Issue: For the final issue, why not?
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