Descender Volume 6: The Machine War
The Descender series, Issues 27 - 32
Jeff Lemire, illustrations by David Nguyen
Image Comics
Fiction, Graphic Novel/Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: The United Galactic Council, the rogue robot faction Hardwire, and the fanatically anti-machine Gnishian fleet bear down on the ocean world Mata, where time to prevent a galaxy-wide catastrophe is fast running out. As the childlike robot Tim-21 discovers the secret of his origins, he might hold the only key to peace... if anyone will listen to him.
REVIEW: This is a bit of a dip in the ratings, though it is still a pretty good story. A lengthy flashback reveals the original Descenders, the artificial species behind the massive Harvester robots and the root inspiration for all modern robotics in the UGC... but they are not necessarily the benevolent race they present themselves as. Meanwhile, the grown boy Andy must come to terms with his own conflicted feelings, whether he sees Tim-21 as the brother he used to be or as a lifeless hunk of metal, as he's treated so many scrapped robots over the years. Telsa must also reconcile doing what is right with following orders (and pleasing her remote father), even as the inventor Guon must face what he inadvertently set in motion by stealing Tim-21's template from his mentor in the first place. Driller even makes a brief appearance, captive of the Gnishians. The story maintained much of the same pace and tone as the previous Descender volumes, but I found parts of it stretched. When I reached the ending and realized it was largely a setup for the next series, Ascender, I couldn't help feeling a little miffed, having been deprived of a truly satisfying wrap-up; some storylines were cut off abruptly to facilitate this. Still, I expect I'll read on when the new series appears next year, if it comes to Hoopla. For all the minor things that I feel went wrong with this one, there's still a lot more Descender does right.
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