The first book comes to a close.
Creative Staff:
Story: Rafael Albuquerque, Mike Johnson
Art: Rafael Albuquerque
What They Say:
The fate of the Meld is at stake. It’s time to stop running.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The fifth issue of this series brings the title to a close, at least for now, as it talks about it as concluding book one. EI8HT is definitely a series that I can see being a lot more engaging to read as a singular experience in a trade, though I definitely got a lot out of each individual issue. But with all the connecting elements of it and the different locations and time aspects, reading it through as one complete work will definitely make it all feel a lot more cohesive and solid without the breaks in between. With this issue, everything draws to a close with a mix of anticipation, action and resolution, all while teasing more of what may yet come. Like anything involving time travel though, nothing is written in stone.
The past side here gets some decent play in the beginning as we see Dr. Hamm and Nila making their escape through the machine so they can return to the Meld. While Collins should be coming with them, he’s optioned to stay there and fight against the creatures that are attacking, since they could damage the craft and make it inoperable. It’s a solid sacrifice, played out well with emotion, and there’s the angle to go with that since Hamm is flying out in a time machine, he could conceivably find a way to save him. That doesn’t play out as we think though in the epilogue, which is definitely fun to see what happened to Collins afterwards, which is just the start of his story it looks like. One I hope we do get to explore.
Most of the book takes place in the Meld though, with Spear making his progress in going after everyone that he wants to destroy at this point. Thanks to Joshua, they’ve made some progress in staying out of his clutches, but it’s not what Joshua wants. He wants to stop Spear, since that’s his mission and he intends to complete it. It’s a little simple guerilla material really, but you get the sense that Spear undervalues what Joshua can do, and he’s spent so long fighting ineffective opponents that he’s forgotten some of the basics. What I do like is that we see Joshua playing this smartly, not trying to be a “movie hero” in a sense, but rather going with what may be considered underhanded actions to win. But he’s playing to win and intends to, which is the key thing here. The book deals with a few interesting ideas after all is said and done, some of which really makes me want to re-read it all right away when it comes to his wife and the meaning of the timelines, but mostly we’re getting the curiosities set up for how the Meld interacts with the real world with Joshua looking to bring part of his story to a conclusion.
In Summary:
I had an absolute blast with this series in its individual parts and I think it’s one that will hold up really well, if not better, in trade form and hope that people take the chance on it. The production here across the board is strong and it plays to a good story with some beautiful design elements put into it that really elevates it while avoiding looking like a gimmick. This is one of those books that comes across as a passion project and you can feel it throughout it with a lot of love and care from everyone involved. I hope this is not the last of the Meld that we’ll see, and that with some good trade sales and some smart marketing, it can extend its reach and its audience can find it and rave about it like I do. Very recommended.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 17th, 2015
MSRP: $3.50
