A faceless enemy has emerged in Oblivion, ambushing and kidnapping people from both sides of the breach. No one knows what they are or what they want, but the Cole brothers intend to stop them. Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici’s gripping new storyline intensifies in Oblivion Song #15.
After narrowly avoiding capture, Dane returns to the Oblivion settlement and tells Ed about the Faceless Men’s attack. Meanwhile on Earth, Nathan struggles to acclimate to his new life. The perception of his role in the transference has changed, but an outburst at the Oblivion Memorial reveals that his burdensome guilt still remains. Back in Oblivion, Marco and a team of researchers are attacked by the Faceless Men. More are captured, but one escapes and brings news of the mysterious new threat back to Earth.
Even though the new story arc revolves around the Faceless Men, Oblivion Song is about more than just humans versus monsters. To me, the appeal of this comic has always been the strong-willed characters wrestling with substantive internal conflicts like survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress. Nathan’s guilt is nothing new, that’s always been his motivation, but Kirkman is now exploring a different facet of his guilt. In the three years since Nathan went to prison, some good has finally come from the transference, but does that make it okay? Can any benefit ever outweigh the damage caused by the initial cataclysm?
When faced with such difficult questions, it’s no wonder that issue fifteen ends with Nathan charging headlong into Oblivion at the first sign of trouble. Putting himself in danger is one of the few ways he knows how to cope with the guilt.
The last few issues of Oblivion Song have been mostly expositional with the action slowly building to a boil. Kirkman strikes an excellent balance between the characters in Oblivion and the characters on Earth. There’s a lot of new things happening, but I never felt overwhelmed with information. Kirkman also continues to develop Marco as a prominent character and provides Ed with more of a spotlight in Oblivion. All of this pays off at the end of issue fifteen, when Nathan and Ed rush into mirroring cliffhangers.
De Felici’s art and Annalisa Leoni’s colors continue to draw me into this comic. I love the eerie twisting lines and unsettling hues, especially in the Oblivion backgrounds where everything seems tense and contorted. Issue fifteen contains a stunning action sequence that begins with an exceptionally dynamic splash page of the Faceless Men.
It seems we’ve come to the end of act one in this new Oblivion Song storyline, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the Cole brothers confront the Faceless Men in Oblivion for the first time.
Creative Team: Robert Kirkman (writer), Lorenzo De Felici (artist), Annalisa Leoni (colors) Rus Wooton (letters)
Publisher: Image Comics – Skybound
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