It’s rude to bleed on yourself.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom King
Art: Barnaby Bagenda
What They Say:
Save the princess! First, the treacherous Omega Men murder White Lantern Kyle Rayner in cold blood, then they steal a deadly Citadel warship, and now they’ve absconded with Kalista, the exalted daughter of Euphorix. What cruelty will they perpetrate upon the sweet princess?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Damn this book.
Omega Men has been a fascinating read in its first two issues with what it presented with the caper at hand for Primus and his crew. The narrative wasn’t one that was easy to jump into but it was also something that was completely open as pretty much all the readers are on the same page of not being sure of the events at hand or even the characters since things have changed so much over the years. It was best to treat it all as a blank slate, the start of a novel or a movie where you’re thrown into the action and have to figure things out. While the series felt like it had really started to move forward at the end of the second installment, to the point where I felt like I had a handle on it in a sense, this one shifts gears and shifts expectations once again, keeping the reader on their toes and savoring that first read for the surprises it has, and for the pleasures of reading it again in a new context.
This issue introduces us to Princess Kalista on the planet Euphorix of the Vega System. Through a strong narrative that she presents, we see how for years – since she was six years old in fact – she was taught to kill the people of the world that her species had taken over and control of. It was all for training and art in a sense and that has made her incredibly skilled but also disconnected from the reality of what she’s doing. Which isn’t a bad thing when one has to survive in the universe. With some really smart dialogue here and exposition that reveals how some of Euphorix works, we get a massive insight into the personality of Kalista and her role as princess here, complete with the responsibilities placed on her by her father. Though we’re unsure of why we’re getting this, the fleshing out of the character is very well done.
When we get Tigorr and the Omega Men showing up to kidnap her at Primus’ command, it turns into a beautiful array of chaos as they go at it. Particularly with the dialogue that really hits just as much as their weapons do. While she does end up captured, it’s not without a really strong fight and with casualties to be had, making for a truly engaging sequence. The best though is what comes after, as she’s placed with Kyle for a bit and the two are similar souls in a sense, open to talking at this point. Kalista is just so wonderfully realized and has such personality that the way she rolls about and the words fall from his lips is almost intoxicating. You want to just see what else she’ll say from her position of privilege even in this circumstance. But as the twist comes and the truth is revealed, you just have to laugh all the more because everything you think you know is just a facade. And that makes me want to dig oh so much deeper into this book.
In Summary:
King and Bagenda are putting together an utterly amazing book here. I’ve been wary of it because I have a hard time believing books like this can last from publishers, but each installment just draws me in all the more and captivates me. King’s dialogue and use of character is spot on here and with Kalista it feels like he’s found a really strong voice to work with that can make for some really big scenes in the future. It’s a great story that’s taking shape here but one that is hugely driven by Bagenda’s work. These aren’t alien worlds in the old sense of weirdness from 1950’s science fiction but rather weird worlds from the standards of today. It’s a cruel galaxy out there and Bagenda’s vision of it comes through in a really haunting way as we see Euphorix here even from afar, understanding its oppressive nature. There’s a lot to like here and Omega Men is one of those books you really have to work for. But the payoff so far has been very, very rich.
Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 5th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
