Creative Staff:
Story: David Andry
Art: Skylar Patridge
Colors: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Deron Bennett
What They Say:
Shipwrecked, Paxton and Fern search for their companions. What they find is a seemingly miraculous haven from the Waves. After abandoning the family cabin to Maw and Preacher, the kids, along with Sarah, regroup and begin to formulate a plan to take back their home.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Resonant series is one that really does leave me curious about what’s going on and hopeful that it runs long enough that it gets to explore a lot of different things. David Andry has some neat new additions to this installment that shakes up the world a bit but it’s hard to trust anyone. Skylar Patridge continues to deliver some fantastic pages with how everything looks. I love the character designs, the costumes, and the settings overall. Especially as we get to see some new things this time around. It all feels properly lived in and a part of things in a way that gives it a lot more authenticity.
Paxton’s story is the more dominant one here as he wakes up on the shore thanks to the pooch, Fern, licking his face and getting him to come around. With a sprained ankle, there’s no sign of Claire or Miki and that leads him to a slow search that starts to take him off the beach. It’s here that we discover the tall building called the spiral which a group of people have taken to living in. To Paxton’s surprise, it feels like Claire has been here a bit but Miki is missing still. What we learn is that this place, because of its build and acoustics, is essentially immune to the wave itself and people here are free of it and its effects. I’m sure there’s a little science that will explain it but Paxton’s wariness is earned as he sees how Claire is just all-in on this place to a big degree so quickly while he still has to find his kids and deal with that.
The time with the kids in this issue is a bit quieter overall, which is good after some of their recent chaos. They’ve headed to the church where their mother is buried and are hauling out the emergency supplies that they stashed there, which Ty’s young wife doesn’t like as it desecrates the church. That leads to a bit of an argument there since they’ve got pretty strong opinions, but it comes down to the fact that Sarah is sticking with Ty and that means they need to make it work. It’s mostly about setup here more than anything else in getting this group on the same page and understanding what it is their goals are. It’s simple, at least, in that they want to stop Maw and the Preacher and take back their home but they’re just so outgunned here in multiple ways that it’s hard to see how it’ll happen.
In Summary:
Resonant introduces us to a new location this time around and it’s one that feels like it’s a bit radical. It’s a little odd in how it feels like Claire has been there longer than it feels like she should have but it all works out and smooths out in order to introduce Paxton to the place while wondering what dangers it holds. Both storylines cover a lot of ground but the Spiral opens us up to some interesting ideas and a lot of characters that could be introduced unless something bad happens sooner rather than later. I’m digging Paxton’s story well and am glad it felt like the dominant one here.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: March 3rd, 2021
MSRP: $3.99