Preparing to scale up – review of the comic book “Descender. Orbital mechanics “, vol. 4

The plot of the fourth part of Descendant is intriguing from the very beginning. The following pages are flooded with feelings, but there is also a struggle. Importantly, it is clearly visible that the events are gaining momentum. From the beginning of the series, it was suspected that the story would not only focus on individuals, but we get another confirmation in this volume.

Watercolors

What was most surprising when you reached for Descendant were the drawings. Light watercolors and a clearly visible texture of the paper on which the boards were painted are not typical in comics. As the first shock faded, however, the admiration for Dustin Nguyen’s style quickly came. There is one thing that can be noted when reading the Orbital mechanics . While the drawings are great and illustrate the story perfectly, it is possible to imagine it being drawn in a different style. In the case of the previous installments of this series, such thoughts did not appear. It should be emphasized, however, that this is not due to the deterioration of the quality of the work. They are still at a high level and you can still admire the selected drawings. They are simply not so inextricably linked with history anymore.

The composition of the beginning of the volume is very interesting. The creators basically change the place of action and the presented characters from frame to frame. It happens that two shots in a row cover one event, but for the first fifteen pages it is an exception. As readers, we are shuffled between three scenes taking place simultaneously. Contrary to appearances, this procedure works great. It does not cause confusion, but gives everything an amazing dynamics – thus emphasizing the description of what is taking place.

Momentum

The comic focuses on people, but in the background you can clearly see a much larger scale of events. Actions taken by individuals will affect millions – or so it seems. For now, the story is still focused more on small sections of the universe. It is individual people who make decisions, fight or meet. However, the expectation of the finale grows in us over the next few pages. As we read, we expect the narrative to change scale in a moment. However, this is not yet happening. One can only assume that this change will take place in the next volume.

Feelings

One must pay attention to the emotional dimension of this story. Once again, we can clearly see that feelings are not only the domain of humans or other protein creatures. Robots, just like us, feel and can be good or bad. Dedication to others, faith in a chosen cause, remorse – all this can be observed in heroes, no matter what their bodies are made of. Of course, this topic is nothing new in science fiction, but it still remains relevant. Perhaps even now it matters more than it used to be. It is true that we are still very far from the construction of artificial intelligence in the form it is portrayed in pop culture, but in our deliberations on the rights for such a life, we still remain almost in the same place as before.

The plot is undoubtedly the strongest point of the fourth installment of Descendant . The story looks better than in the previous volume and closer to the beginning of the cycle. As far as the discussed issues are concerned, there are not too many new concepts, but the whole thing has been consistent so far. Everything is framed with great drawings. The comic is really great to read.