Sometimes you have to go off-mission.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mario Mentasti
Art: Ben Herrera
Colors: Emanuel Ordaz Torres
Letterer: Justin Birch
What They Say:
Overcome with the desire for revenge after failing her mission and being soundly defeated by the Iron Eagle Elite, Vanessa enlists the help of Monty’s contacts to track them down, acting without approval or permission from her boss. Vanessa is now hot on their tracks, with the deadly intention of paying them back for what they did to her with interest. Will Vanessa and Monty defeat the mercenaries, or will they perish trying?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Obey Me wraps up a storyline pretty well here and I believe that this is the last issue as no further ones have been solicited and the Dynamite site lists it as a five-issue series not including the zero issue. Mario Mentasti has had a lot of fun with the book even if it’s made me rather not like certain characters in the last issue or two with how they compose themselves. The core characters are amusing and fun to watch and they’re brought to life well thanks to Ben Herrera. I do wish we had more opportunity for non-mission stories with just Vanessa hanging out with Monty or something so that it wasn’t a series that was all dark when it came to its color design and action. There are plenty of bright moments but there’s not a lot of natural moments.
With Agatha and her crew having gotten away with the box, Vanessa’s running low on energy here but not intent. She’s got Monty at her side as always for support and it’s fun to watch as they prepare to “cut them off at the pass” by getting ahead of the train that Agatha’s crew is on. They make a creative approach at getting on just as Agatha and the others nod sagely about how nobody can catch up to them now. Carnage on a train is a fairly familiar battle scene and it does play out well here, though at least with some smarts. Agatha having one of her team bring the box away from the battle is a good move and having her stronger assets go up against the two plays out with some real danger since Glinlivet is a pretty good sniper. It’s a decent tight quarters piece but it’s watching what Vanessa does that makes it work since she’s intent but not crazed in how she goes after them.
The fight with the front line pair is pretty fun but it picks up more when Vanessa goes up against Agatha. Agatha has her own agenda and is playing to a bigger picture here, going so far later in the fight to try and get Vanessa to change sides as Ammon is going to be dealt with soon. It’s amusing that all of that is meaningless to Vanessa as she’s just doing the job and doesn’t concern herself with the big picture stuff, though that has to factor in eventually. What does really work well is how we see Vanessa change the nature of the game for Agatha as she ends up sucking up the souls of her comrades after being told that they’d just come back to life after the battle like normal. Vanessa is playing on a different level with this and it’s good to see just how much of an impact it makes, sending her into a panic. It reaffirms what Vanessa is capable of and why Ammon is definitely keeping her on the payroll.
In Summary:
I’m assuming that this leads more directly into the game itself, something that I’m not drawn to since it’s not my style of game. As a prequel comic series, it definitely has a good bit of fun that comes through thanks to the creative team. Mario Mentasti keeps things moving well with a slim but serviceable story that lets the character material come across the best alongside the copious amount of action. Ben Herrera’s artwork was definitely a winner here with its dynamic look and layouts for the fight sequences themselves. It’s smooth and fun making for some creative moments that work well, especially as things ramp up against Agatha here. This is a decent finale that hints at what’s to come and I kind of hope that this did well enough for it to get told in comic form in addition to the game itself.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 7th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
