Creative Staff:
Story: Max Bemis
Art: Eoin Marron
Colors: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Dale’s life has been nothing even close to normal since a flying monster descended on his planet and destroyed it, but things get even weirder as he discovers the Centipede’s history, in what can only be described as a psychedelic trip down the creature’s memory lane.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Centipede draws to a close with this installment and it’s one that’s definitely interesting, if a bit of a quick read. Which isn’t a bad thing because the story has carried us along well and there’s a lot to like in going back for more readings to enjoy Eoin Marron’s artwork. After getting so much of the creature’s history through a kind of distorted view for Dale, Max Bemis takes us to the conclusion here where it can reasonably go just a couple of ways. There’s almost a kind of uncertainty to the end that has me wishing I could go back and re-read earlier installments about how things ended with this world because I’m not sure if it’s a dream, delusion, or real, but that kind of ambiguity – even if it’s just on my part – isn’t a bad thing.
Dale’s fight against the creature is a little comical at first with the fighter that he’s using as he even acknowledges how easy it is to fly. A joystick to fly and a red button to shoot, a simple nod to the game itself. But what we get are some very fun sequences as he gets it moving and fighting with some good hits against the creature, at least until he’s “bloop” gobbled up by it and dealing with its innards. Innards that smell like behind the ear of a homeless man. It’s inside the creature that we discover that it’s carrying eggs and Dale deals with that with what it means but also trying to figure out how it happened and whether or not the creature is just as much a victim as everyone else with what’s been done. A kind of living bio-weapon sent across space to cleanse planetes for other species.
The final act of all of this plays out in a kind of loose way (I’m still not sure what actually causes the explosion based on how it unfolds) but there’s a nice bit of somberness about it all because of the length of the fight and Dale viewing both of them as victims. What’s a little confusing for me is the last two pages with the call that he gets, showing Lucas amid a crowd celebrating the victory while Lucas himself can’t understand how Dale kept fighting. A big part of me says that this is just delusion on Dale’s part but still, regardless of whether real or imagined, it adds a really nice weight to the end of things here as Dale collapses from all that he’s been through.
In Summary:
While absolutely none of the Atari based books have been what I expected (and I’m still wishing for an Atari Force revival in the classic sense), what this series did was a whole lot of unexpected fun. Bemis put together some interesting things here in bringing this to life and while it could have been a bit tighter and an issue shorter it was the kind of surprise that I like as a whole. I also really dug Marron’s artwork as it was ideal for this kind of end of the world storyline and what Dale was facing, as well as the exploration of the creature’s origins. Definitely not what a lot would expect from a Centipede title but it delivered very well.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: December 20th,2017
Release Date: Dynamite Entertainment
MSRP: $3.99
