A chaotic ending with a new paradigm.
Creative Staff:
Story: Steve Horton
Art: Martin Morazzo
Colors: Alex Lozano
Letters: Neil Uyetake
What They Say:
The master plan stands revealed, the cards are on the table and the race is on to stop a deadly plague before it wipes out every alien in known space!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Satellite Falling comes to its conclusion here with this issue, though naturally it leaves the door open for me, with a pretty busy piece. Steve Horton has clearly had fun with these characters and the twists that came into play in the last issue with what Eva is up to. Combine that with Martin Morazzo’s solid artwork that goes for a brighter and more engaging world than a dank and dystopian piece and it has a certain flair and fun about it that hits a spot that’s rarely dealt with these days. I love the details we get in the background and how it looks like there’s a lot going on, but it’s the brighter color work that definitely ups the enjoyment of it.
With this issue wrapping things up for the main arc it has a lot to go through and some of it does feel a touch rushed. Lilly’s time with Eva is one that’s impassioned about what it is that Eva and Earth are doing by infecting everyone as it’s just a brutal piece of work. Lilly really can’t believe that she’d go that far but Eva makes clear her hatred of aliens and all they represent in the clearest of ways so there’s no real misunderstanding of her here. She’s afraid and she’s lashing out with the complete destruction of her fears in order to get the feeling and illusion of safety. That’s more than Lilly can bear and seeing her eliminate her is pretty brutal, though at first I thought it might have been some sort of transporter/jail kind of weapon. But no, that’s just Eva dust that’s left over.
What this leaves is the escape and attempt at heading off the weapon and its intent. What’s interesting is how this all plays out as things are already in motion and the residents are already infected. What we get is a society that cannot return to their homeworld and really is quite isolated in a lot of ways. I’d be curious to see something dealt with in this regard as the psychologcal side could be pretty interesting. But what we get is a cursory look and general realignment of a population happy to just be alive even if they can never return to their home worlds. It’s a solid wrap up epilogue kind of piece that digs in how the team goes their ways and finds happiness, and love, while giving us a nod toward the potential for more. Which I’m certainly on board for!
In Summary:
I had a lot of fun with Satellite Falling when it started and it did prove to be a bit tough to get back into with the gap that came up with the later issues. The finale is one that feels a touch rushed but still in the overall tone and style of what came before, working to wrap everything up in a clean and fun way. It’s a book that I can definitely see working a lot better in one sitting compared to my experience with it. The premise is one that I like, the characters have potential, and the artwork is just fun and enjoyable to look at with all of its detail and the creativity of the aliens. The ending may not be as strong as it could be but it works well and I’m hopeful for more in the future.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 17th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
