Review: DESCENDER #1

Written By:  Jeff Lemire
Illustrated By:  Dustin Nguyen
Lettered and Designed By:  Steve Wands
Published By:  Image Comics

Science-fiction stories and books can be a mixed bag.  There is so much competition, and many tread the same waters.  The key is to take an idea and make it your own, while mixing in a stellar creative team with a fan following.  Descender, from Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, definitely falls into this category.  A coming-of-age story, only if the lead character is a young robot living in a world where his kind have been outlawed.

What I Liked

I really loved how accessible issue one was.  Sometimes with a new series, its possible to get lost in the newness of everything.  Too many characters introduced at one time, new concepts to grasp…it can all become overwhelming.  Lemire does a nice job of keeping things straight to the point, while leaving room for mysteries to play out.

We’re taken from a shocking attack by the Harvesters, to quiet moments meeting our protagonist, Tim-21.  As a fellow Tim, I’m already a fan of Tim-21 and am rooting for him.  The reader learns along with him, as he investigates what has happened to his family.

The visuals by Nguyen are breathtaking.  His painted artwork gives the panel backgrounds extra flare.  Nguyen spends extra time constructing the Dirishu Mining Colony that we find Tim-21 in.  The color choices are sleek, and Nguyen knows how to draw expressive characters.

Speaking of characters, I cannot continue without mentioning Dr. Quon.  His journey will be one to keep an eye on.

What I Didn’t Like

Do I really have to find fault with Descender?  If I were to nitpick, it would be fleshing out the United Galactic Council some more.  We know it consists of nine worlds, but why was the council formed in first place?  Teases or clues would intrigue the readers more and more.

Summary

Descender is high-concept with cosmic exploration and discovery.  Tim-21 is the last of his kind (that we know of).  It should be fun to follow his adventure of how this came to be, along with what happened to his family and what the deal is with the Harvesters.

Rating:  5 out of 5

Timdogg

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE