Riddles. Why did it have to be riddles?
Creative Staff:
Story: Matt Kindt
Art: David Rubin
What They Say:
From New York Times bestselling Mind MGMT creator Matt Kindt and Black Hammer’s David Rubin comes this fantasy adventure about a science-minded hero intent on keeping the balance between Earth and a magic world!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As much as I enjoy books by Matt Kindt I also know that they can be frustrating experiences. I love the unpredictability of it all and the characters along with the concepts but the execution can be just a bit more than I can handle in some ways, which makes them frustrating. Some books work better than others and sometimes that comes down to the artist. With David Rubin, even if the story loses me for a bit there’s just so much to take in visually and the general nature of how it’s presented that it becomes a fascinating experience. Ether feels like it’s a bit above my pay grade but it’s just such a striking book that I can’t wait to see what this team comes up with to bring it all together.
With the mission in motion and Boone having returned to the Ether and put a crew together, the plan is fairly straightforward here as they’re looking to plug the holes leaking into reality. The interesting thing to consider with this is that the Ether is, as Boone says, layers upon layers of creations made in the real world that have formed these new things. Boone’s detailed analysis of this world is a bit of an info dump but it plays well into the things he’s doing here while trying to understand it, such as the research into why he can’t eat the food from here. The exploration of this place is what I find most interesting with the kinds of things that it has and just how creative it can be, which is good for both Kindt and Rubin in how they operate. I’m wondering how much comes from one or the other in some cases as both creators are definitely doing great stuff here.
The dynamic of this group that Boone is with makes for some good humor and that makes their encounter with the “great wizard” Agrippa so much fun as they need to get past her to where the real problem lays. With an incredibly detailed location design to all of it, Boone secures passage with a riddle that’s just hilariously detailed and complex but part of an incredibly simple ruse in order to secure passage through language. It’s a really fun sequence before it shifts gears to what’s behind her that’s going to cause the team so much trouble with giant laval-like wolves or some such to go up against as there’s a fifteen minute timer before everything goes really wrong. The tension and pressure is rising steadily here and seeing just how crazy it all is makes for an amazing fun experience.
In Summary:
Ether: The Copper Golems digs deeper into what’s going on here but hasn’t hit anything really solid in a way. It’s the first round exploration of events while dealing with some powerful opponents and players that are out there. Kindt’s script makes for some great humor as the journey continues and some really good fun with the riddle and how that’s brought out. Rubin is the bigger star for me here with the designs and color work as it’s just such a fascinating world that one could spend a whole lot of time exploring it and all its weirdness. I’m not sure where it’ll all go but it’s proving to be a very good journey so far that has me wanting more Boone time.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 20th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
