The hunt is on!
Creative Staff:
Story: Ryan Parrott
Art: Omar Francia
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
What They Say:
Pursued by police and bounty hunters alike, HALE-19 must confront his sordid past and place his trust in his former unscrupulous allies to survive. But will they aid him in AMBER-7T’s quest to save robot-kind? Or will they turn him in for the ultimate payday?
After awakening in a decommission facility, AMBER-7T is forced to rely on the dangerous and unapologetic HALE-19 in order to escape. Can these two contradictions find a way to escape or will they turn on one another to survive? Meanwhile, Art Detectives Drivas and Lawton find themselves saddled with the case of their lives and a pair of dangerous new adversaries enter the game.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Volition has been an interesting book in just trying to get a handle on it. I really like the pieces that Ryan Parrott is putting into play here but it’s a bit slow in coming together in a way that connects it in a way that really engages me on a deeper level. There are some really fun piece in this issue that helps nudge it forward and that definitely helps. But the main draw for me is still the great artwork from Omar Francia. The series simply looks great and with the kind of near-painted approach it has is something that has me not minding the delay between issues even if that’ll just make me feel like it reads better in collected form. There’s a lot to like in this book with what Francia puts together and it really appeals, especially the color design.
There are a few different things going on within it while HALE is off with AMBER in trying to keep her safe while doing his best to follow through on his promise. Her shutting down hasn’t helped in the slightest at the start here but it’s something that lets him try going back to where he started in getting some help from the others, or at least a little recovery time. There are those that are displeased by this since they felt that HALE simply used them but his relationship with SHINE allows them to stay – even if some of them just want to turn AMBER in for the reward. Which would be amusing since most if not all of those in the place are wanted or would be scrapped upon discovery in a civilized society. It puts both of them in a difficult place but at least AMBER gets to sleep through it.
The time with Ingenue is intriguing as she continues her search for AMBER continues pretty well. The time interviewing her parents is definitely interesting since they’re very much well off at this point but even there we see how the Rust has infected her mother. Ingenue at least puts together some solid tracking ideas into motion to keep up on where AMBER might be and that gives us the payoff at the end that will translate into the next issue. There’s also some good exploration by Drivas and Lawton as they do some interviews at the hospital where the doctor there gives her a pretty decent report overall, though kind of throws her under the bus as well with some of her addiction issues. I do like how the whole thing feels like too much detail to one of them and sees it as a little to pat and easy, but there’s just been a sense of uncertainty like that from the start in how this book feels.
In Summary:
Volition is a book that has interesting ideas and some very fun characters where you can see the three main threads all slowly being woven together. It’s got a lot going for it with the worldbuilding and setting and the characters themselves are definitely fun, making for a very enjoyable read where you want to see what’s next with where it goes. But it’s really beautifully illustrated with a great sense of style and design, especially for the variety of the machines here in how they present themselves to the world and what their situation is like. Anderson and Francia are really working on something interesting here that could go with a lot of expansion to be even more. Definitely worth a look for those that are interested in this type of material.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: November 7th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
