Review: DESCENDER #6
Written By: Jeff Lemire
Illustrated By: Dustin Nguyen
Lettered and Designed By: Steve Wands
Cover By: Dustin Nguyen
Published By: Image Comics
When we last left Descender, we learned that Dr. Quon lied about creating Tim-21. After being tortured and threatened with death, Dr. Quon rocked not only Tim-21’s world, but also the readers. Why did Dr. Quon deceive everyone? What led to all this? Descender #6 answers these questions, while raising more.
What I Liked
Instead of tip-toeing around the revelation from last issue, Jeff Lemire spends the first half of the book in a flashback retelling Dr. Quon’s journey to being a fraud. 15 years ago, Quon was a part of an expedition to the planet Ostrakon with his then-mentor/Professor Solomon. A relic from the past was found on Ostrakon, and Solomon and Quon were sent there by the United Galactic Council to investigate. The discovery plants seeds for many things that have already transpired in the series regarding robots.
We learn that after a disagreement, Quon stole Professor Solomon’s work for himself. Quon wanted the limelight and fame of being the face of robotic design.
The conclusion of the book introduced another group of players to the Descender saga – Hardwire, the Robot Resistance. They show up to rescue Tim-21. I love the inclusion of a resistance force full of robots. If the Scrappers can be traveling across the galaxy to exterminate robots, it only makes sense that robots would band together to protect their own. With the UGC, Scrappers, and now the Robot Resistance, there are many sides to this conflict.
Artist Dustin Nguyen crafted the planet Ostrakon in the flashback sequence as a barren desert. It was beautiful to see the illusion of sunlight reflecting off the sand. Displaying the emotions between Quon and Solomon was also clever. Readers can see them going from friendly banter to argument and discipline on the end of Solomon to Quon. A three-panel setup even goes so far as to show Quon cloaked in shadow, while the rest of the page is in white background.
Letterer Steve Wands unleashes a foreign language through the discovery that Quon and Solomon make. I wonder what other contributions Wands makes throughout the issue as a designer. I assume the lovely recap page is his work as well.
The big surprise comes at the end, just as the first Descender arc comes to a close.
What I Didn’t Like
It is very hard for me to find fault with Descender #6. If I were to nitpick, one could make a gripe about the majority of the issue taking place in the past. Once we jump to the present, we get the introduction of the Robot Resistance, and then the comic ends.
Timdogg
#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE
