Always remember: It’s never safe to go out at night … and the daytime isn’t much safer either!
Creative Staff:
Writer: Joe Tyler
Artwork: Carlos Granda
What They Say:
For decades the U.S. Government has covered up the existence of dozens of species of dangerous creatures that have been captured over the years. After building a small, secretive city on a remote island in the Pacific, these monsters were transported there to be studied.
In 2012, disaster struck and the island was evacuated. Now the inmates have taken over, and different species fight for control within the city walls. However, something extremely valuable was left behind on the island and the only way to recover it is to send an elite mercenary unit into the most dangerous place in the world … Monster Island.
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Dr. Kelsey Bennett and the mercenaries never knew what to expect on Monster Island, and when they found the remains of the main laboratory in shambles, all hope seemed to be lost to find their main goal – the research. But now, a new surprise has reared its head and it is not what they had expected: survivors. It has been almost five years since she left the facility when the forced evacuation was sounded after the experiments revolted and started to take over and now this happens? Since their mission never included the rescue of the scientists, Merrick knows that finding the material takes precedence, even if the good doctor tells him otherwise. They just need to find her main test subject, a cyclops that she calls Cy and get new samples so she can continue the work. However, if these inhabitants can help in the search, so much the better, but they has not get in the way of completion.
With the next dawn, the new expedition begins, but not without some immediate complications. These people may be able to help with the search, but they know nothing about following instructions: Merrick is in charge, even if they know the lay of the land, he is the leader, not the other way around. Though they may know how the enemy behaves, the squad cannot keep them safe if they wander around and explore on their own. The group only has a slender sliver of time as the various tribes settle into their new territories, but someone is out hunting for the intruders, and they will take no prisoners. How can this band of misfits hope to keep their new friends safe when they are being assaulted from multiple fronts? If they could only find some allies who knew who is leading these attacks, but where could they find them in a land set to destroy any human who dares to intrude on this sovereign land?
In Summary:
Although the story may seem to be gaining some momentum after the last issue, the turning point in the plot is all too familiar: the group goes into a dangerous environment, fails to uncover anything and surprise – they instead find survivors! Sorry to say this, but writer Joe Tyler seems to be running out of ideas for this series and is falling back onto this old cliché that we have seen in numerous TV series and movies. Even if the tried and true sometimes works, this time, it doesn’t. After we are introduced to the new characters, the narrative falls into place as predictably easy as a line of dominos; if you know this theme, you can tell what will happen before it is displayed on the page, and that not a good thing.
And the other disheartening problem with this issue is the under-utilisation of Carlos Granda’s marvelous artwork. When we were first introduced to his beautifully rich environments, his cinematically frenetic pace suited what seemed to be a movie blockbuster type genre; but now, the story is trying to juggle itself between an action flick, then settling down to give us some unnecessary drama before it returns to your typical losing battle before the obligatory cliffhanger. The energy of the series is lost and thus, so is Granda’s illustrative skill wasted in these monotonous and yet wonderfully drawn transition scenes; they may be pretty to watch, but the lustre that he gave us in the first issue’s titanic battles is gone.
Escape From Monster Island is painfully plummeting into B grade movie status as the action is quickly taking a back seat to irrelevant melodrama. Although it may be necessary to establish the background of the story, to interrupt what the title presents as a conflict oriented narrative for histrionic moments ruins the pacing and thus, unbalances the tension of trying to survive on an island where everything is trying to kill the characters. With only three more issues left in the series, I just hope that Tyler and Granda don’t try to stuff all of the epic scenes into the last half with no breathers. Here’s hoping that the next one recovers the magic they cast on us from the beginning.
Grade: C+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: April 20th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
