The third volume of D escendant consists mainly of flashbacks. The main storyline does not move forward too much, but in return we get a chance to look at the past of many of the heroes. This time the authors are trying to make us better understand some characters and their motivations.
A hard past
Jeff Lemire has already accustomed readers to the fact that the world he creates is not very cheerful. The peculiarities once again we find out about it. The following chapters are stories about the past of the six heroes. Each of these stories is basically sad. Of course, some of the characters met something good, some even met happiness, but for everyone it was associated with some pain. For some it was humiliation and harm, for others it was the loss of loved ones or loneliness. Unfortunately, each of the characters presented was left with a scar, which to some extent affects their further life.
As in the previous volumes, the creators show how human robots are. This applies not only to the heavily humanoid machines of the Tim series, but also to the big drill. Only the dog-like robber seems not so much human as animal – but definitely not insensitive. This anthropomorphization of robots can be read in two ways. On the one hand, it can be about how people treat each other, and on the other, it can be an input in a discussion of ethical issues related to the emergence of artificial intelligence.
A bit too slow pace
Flashbacks allow us to get to know and understand each character better. Unfortunately, the concentration of all of them one after another made the main storyline move too slowly. This does not make the comic boring or indigestible, but the proportions are not as well chosen as in the previous two installments of the series.
The most interesting fragment here is the story of Andy and the Queen of Between. It has enough potential to make a separate story out of it. While it moves the action very slightly, it gives a good insight into Andy’s motivations that it can be assumed that his role will continue to grow in importance.
It is somewhat surprising that so little space is devoted to Tim-21. Basically every other major character, including the Ruffian, got their five minutes and he didn’t. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the future belongs to Tim-21, or maybe just what we learned about him earlier is enough, and the rest of the characters needed some deepening.
Overall impressions
Graphically, the Singularities look similar to the previous volumes, but still lack something. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific error here, but while Dustin Nguyen’s style in Tin Stars and Mechanical Moon was a perfect complement to the story, it does not quite fit here. Maybe this is due to the fact that the mood of the flashback is slightly different, or maybe because the cartoonist coped with this task a bit worse. Although the visual layer is not as perfect as before, it can still please the eye and attract attention.
Descender. The peculiarities are slightly weaker than the volumes preceding it, but it is worth reading. The comic is read quickly and with interest. Perhaps a better solution would be to interweave flashbacks with more events and thus break them into more than one volume, but even in the form presented, the story encourages you to continue your adventures with its heroes.
