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XENO'S ARROW #4
"Runaway Consumers"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Radio Comix
Writer: Stephen Geigen-Miller
Writer/Artist: Greg Beettam
Price: $2.99 US |
Like Castle Waiting or Finder, this is another one of those great indy books that is struggling to find an audience but really shouldn't be. Xeno's Arrow is a
great example of all-ages adventure fiction, and now that it has gotten off into
space and away from the zoo it has managed to become even more entertaining.
This issue finds the crew settling down on a civilized world in search of
supplies, and of course hilarity and hijinks ensue.
Beettam and Geigen-Miller have developed a
heck of an ensemble cast, and they all get their moments here. The lead
character is probably Xeno, the naive and high-spirited young character whose
story involves both awakening to the realities of the world while not losing his
starry-eyed optimism, and his pairing with the cynical and worldly Okiris makes
for some great interplay this issue. In a similar display of contrasts, the
creators have paired adventure-seeking glory hound Kobb with the perpetually
nervous and timid Z'nyd'n. The result is character exploration for all involved,
as well as some truly hilarious moments.
Just as the Zoo was itself a character of
sorts, the city world of Teeko World is fleshed out in this issue to be as much
a character as a setting. The creators make none-too-subtle points about
consumerism and advertising, as well as the notions of stratified wealth, but
it's all more or less in service of the main job of the story, which is
developing the characters further. And in the visual pages with Kobb and
Z'nyd'n, Beettam does his always-impressive job on artwork, rendering a
believably crowded and bustling metropolis, conveying the claustrophobia without
making the art feel crowded.
I must confess, however, to being a little disappointed in this issue in one regard. I am no fan of the illustrated text pieces that are becoming more popular in some comics, whether it's the long segments of prose to be found in Cerebus or the more brief interludes used in Strangers in Paradise or
here. While I'm all for pure text or comics, all I could think while reading the
prose in this issue is how much more I would rather be seeing the action.
Writing out most of the sections with Xeno and Okiris certainly helped to speed
the pacing of the issue, but it didn't feel true to the book, and I felt robbed
of some spectacular chase sequences.
At any rate, though, even with this minor complaint about the format, Xeno's Arrow remains a
favorite of mine. It's got adventure, humor, a vast setting and skilled talent
at the helm, and everyone interested in a little something different in their
comics should really give it a try.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
