Search
Resize text+=

‘Ascender #9:’ Advance Comic Book Review

As usual with a good story, not everything is what it seems.

When we last left off in the previous issue, Andy had been captured by Mother and her minions. She only kept him alive, because he might lead her to Mira and their companion robot; however, Mother had a rude surprise when the remnants of the UGC attacked and destroyed the mothers at The Citadel.  Her retribution was swift, but the damage had been done.

Now, Mother is faced with a devastating loss as the Mothers and the Coven are her source of power.  When she returns home, she is met by a shadow of her former self who leads her on a Dickensian journey through her past and present.  In this earlier time period, machines still exist, and there are glimpses of beauty in her life, but it is overshadowed by the real-life mothers who abused her and an older sister who did not treat her much better.  She is a servant while her sister is coven-bound. All this takes a turn in her favor when she acts at a critical moment, but that moment turns on her when she least expects it.

This issue focuses entirely on Mother’s backstory and how she came to have the power she possesses.  The choice of coloring is interesting in that the present is in black and white, but changes to color as her child self leads her through her past and into the present, insisting at each stage that “The past is the future.”   There are quite a number of panels that are close-ups of the characters which normally I find lackluster, but Mr. Nguyen’s art has given them emotional nuance and subtleties that make them engaging and make you want to know more.  This was a good point in the overall story to bring in who Mother is and how she came to be.

As always, I’m looking forward to the next issue.

Creative Team: Jeff Lemire (writer), Dustin Nguyen (artist), Steve Wands (letterer)
Publisher: Image Comics
Click here to purchase.

Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Fanbase Press Contributor

ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=150&d=mm&r=gforcedefault=1

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top