New truths revealed – once again.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Dustin Nguyen
What They Say:
TIM-21 discovers the secret at the heart of the Robot Resistance and it will change the course of his quest forever.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Descender concludes its second book here with this installment and it’s going to be a rough one in a way as it’s not coming back until June. I’m all for the breaks that happen since I love pretty much everything about the book and whatever it takes for the team to put it together is fine by me; I’ll be here. But three months until the next issue? Oh boy. Descender has done an immense amount of work in its first eleven issues, things that I’d love to see fleshed out and explored in rich form in novelized format, and Lemire and Nguyen have essentially kept me on the edge of my seat with each issue. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and the world(s) within to get thrown out of balance again by what they learn.
This issue essentially works us through three different storylines, though not all are equal in a lot of ways. While I’m totally digging Andy’s story and the motley crew that he’s ended up with while trying to find TIM-21, there’s not a lot going on here as he’s with Queen Between on planet Sampson and they work through some minor relationship stuff. There isn’t much that happens here but I love the dynamic between the characters that exist as it’s totally a ragtag group with some strong personalities. Hell, Blugger is a dozen personalities himself. There’s a lot of setup going on with this arc and it’s kind of spacing out in the background, but it does have its moments. This issue left me wishing for a bit more payoff beyond just the character material.
TIM-21’s story isn’t as strong this time around either, though it certainly ends on an appropriate cliffhanger. With Psius hoping to get more out of him with regards to his dream, he lets TIM-22 wander around the non-quarantine areas with him in hopes of things progressing and making him feel more comfortable. The dynamic between the two is engaging since they’re so different and they really do talk about it. Well, TIM-22 does because he’s got issues whereas TIM-21 is just kind of child-like and goes on with things. But the more we know of 22 the more we realize that he really is a twisted little bastard and is putting things in motion of his own. The exploration of the machine moon and those that reside on it with their emotional aspects is intriguing and 22 definitely brings out a side that most might not immediately expect.
The story that got me the most is with Telsa and Quon this time around. Telsa’s certainly not trusting anyone and she’s absorbing information so that she has intel to work with in trying to get out, which includes understanding the machines and how they process pain. She knows that they’re expendable once Psius has what he wants with TIM-21 and that has pacing like a caged animal. While not something she’d like to do, she does work with Quon in securing exit from the quarantine zone and that leads to its own discovery with the machines here having the remains of a harvester. There are a huge number of questions this raises just in a vacuum and it doesn’t get anywhere near covered. But combining this with the Eternal Server that Psius is going on about and what Quon reveals about the ancient machine that kickstarted the TIM-21 changes and you’re left shaking the damn book by the end because you want to know so much more.
In Summary:
Descender has another fantastic outing here where it lays down a lot of information without providing in a massive dump. There are a lot of smaller things learned that builds a larger narrative and a lot of dangers lurking in the midst. This book serves as a great building block for the larger story that’s at play with so many things introduced seemingly so casually yet with a layer of importance that can’t be understated. Lemire continues to deliver a great story that Nguyen takes up by several levels because of the beauty, pacing, and designs of the artwork. This is a collaboration that just resulted in something very hard to decribe in a way, but something that reminds that this is what kind of creativity the market needs a whole lot more of. I dig deep into superheroes but they are not the end all be all for me. And Descender is a shining beacon of where more books need to go.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 9th, 2016
MSRP: $2.99