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ZENDRA 2.0: HEART OF FIRE #2
Recommended (7/10)
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Penny-Farthing Press
"Book Two: All the Flesh Inherits"
Pencils: Martin Montiel
Inks: J.C. Buelna
Letters: Comicraft
"Does It Hurt?"
Pencils: Matt Marsilia
Inks: Peter Repovski
Writer: Stuart Moore
Colors: Mike Garcia
Editor: Michelle Harman
Price: $2.95 US/$4.60 CAN |
On the surface, Zendra isn't a book I'd normally enjoy. The main protagonist seems like a typical bad-girl heroine, and the humans-hunted-by-alien-slavers plot elements are far from fresh. I thought the first issue of this series had some flaws -- I found I really didn't care about what was going on -- but this second issue brings with it renewed strength and focus. Science fiction and spirituality merge in an oddly enticing story here.
A distortion wave has altered the metahuman Zendrans, and Halle and her surrogate father, the Doctor, learn that it wasn't the handiwork of the malevolent Jekkarans. Rather, it was an effect generated by the Great Machine, a creation of the mysterious but beneficial Aesirians. The other-dimensional, spiritual beings are at a loss as to what's happening, though, so Halle must lead a team in a quest for the Great Machine.
Montiel's pencils remind me quite a bit of the work of Barry (Titans, Empire) Kitson, and those familiar with Kitson's work know that's high praise. I'd rather the female characters'... attributes weren't quite so accentuated in their designs, though. But the detailed landscapes and technology, along with Garcia's vibrant colors, make this bizarre, alien world plausible and mesmerizing.
I think the most heartening aspect of this story is that the humans take control and responsibility for their own fate. Before, the cryptic Aesirians seems to be guiding them toward a certain destiny, and that robbed the book of some of its conflict. Now a greater air of uncertainty and... pride has entered into the equation, and it makes for a more interesting and grounded read.
I was all set to write my review and dwell on the fact that the book's main weakness is that we don't get to know the supporting characters, the human Zendrans, all that well. And then I hit the backup story and its illustrated prose. Suddenly, we do get to know some of those characters -- Jakob and Shada -- much better. The art for the feature needs some work -- the characters seem far too stiff -- but overall, it was a nice character piece that bolstered the main story nicely.
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