A masterful deceit.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom King
Art: Toby Cypress
What They Say:
The epic, bloody saga of the Omega Men continues as a plan to rescue Princess Kalista goes horribly wrong. The Omega Men point their guns. The Citadel points theirs. And everyone pulls the trigger.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
When taken as a whole, the first three issues of The Omega Men are pretty damn impressive. They’re definitely that when you look at them individually, but as you grasp the larger storyline that’s working here combined with the beauty of the artwork and all the layouts, the series has all the makings of a strong property taken to the next level where it should be. The twists and turns, the uncertainties and more all came together in a really fun way that turned our views upside down by the end of. With this installment, the book goes for another big dialogue piece, this time ably illustrated by Toby Cypress as guest artist, where it delves into two of the characters with truths – from a certain point of view.
With the reveal about Kalista at the end of the opening arc, we get to see that she’s still very much running the long con here when it comes to Kyle. Her being in the cell with him is a method that lets him open up since he truly believes she’s just as trapped as he is. And this provides for us very in-depth look at his life as a Green Lantern, working the two sides of the coin theory about how his life has gone and could have gone. While I was reading comics when Kyle first appeared, this slimmed down version works well as it takes us through his past and how he ended up in the Vega system, the deal the Guardians have with the Citadel and his strong, strong, desire to bring peace and save people. It’s very altruistic and fits the classic hero mold, but we also see his flaws here, the inner demons and the kinds of things that really drives him in the end. It’s a prisoner of war sharing his story, not realizing it’s with the enemy who is using the time to turn him towards her own goals. Kalista is simply masterful at this.
The second half of the book is given to Kalista as she continues the deception, but does it in the way that she must by providing a whole lot of truth. Since her larger goal is one that he doesn’t need to know, she’s able to talk about her past in an honest way to connect with him – which Kyle does easily – and it serves a larger purpose as well. Through this we get a look at the five worlds of the Vega system that the Citadel works to control in varying ways and it’s highly instructive as to how their kind of oppression works. I’d love to get a better understanding of why the Guardians worked the deal they did, but getting to see the different worlds and the yoke’s on them while also digging deep into Kalista’s past again, expanding on what we knew previously, it all completely enriches the book in a beautiful way, especially as all of it is designed to sway Kyle to her cause even more. And since it’s almost all true, it rings in a very strong way.
In Summary:
The Omega Men has quickly become one of the best books of the year for me, which naturally makes me fear its fate. With these first four issues we’ve gotten a strong story with some fantastic characters and beautiful artwork. Cypress handles things well as the guest artist here, sticking to the style but bringing in his own flair, while King continues to weave some beautiful storytelling here overall even as he mostly focuses on just two characters. Rayner is humanized here in the space of half an issue in a way that I don’t think has been done in a compelling way in the years since his introduction. There’s a great sense of the tragic about him tied to the altruistic side that’s generally out of vogue. Sweeping him into this space based arc with a heavy focus on science fiction more so than space opera is a big positive in grounding the dreamer before he can be rebuilt. I’m hugely enthused for this series and all four installments are must-read books.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: September 2nd, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
