Review: Extermination #5
Published by Boom Studios
Written by Simon Spurrier
Art by V Ken Marion
(Very) Brief Recap Thus Far
Two people are left wandering the lands after a massive invasion/attack by an alien race known as the Edda. One is Nox who is a superhero and the other is The Red Reaper who is a supervillain. Nox still has his morals intact as he does not kill and does not permit anyone to swear around him. The Red Reaper is a technological genius who actually doesn’t mind things they way they are now. The eventually come across some survivors as well as other former heroes and villains. They find out that the world’s greatest hero, Absolute, is still alive and in captivity. Nox and The Red Reaper then organize an attempt to find him, despite Nox’s differences with Absolute.
The Plot
Nox and company are trying to stop and utilize the Edda Landtrain, which is utilized to transport humans much like cattle. Nox tries to show some appreciation for The Red Reaper; however, he won’t have any part of it because it’s too “soppy.” The scene then flashes back to six months ago when The Red Reaper is free from jail only to find that the world has been demolished. Nox finds him and attempts to subdue him and the two eventually learn that they may need one another. Back to the present, Nox seeks some advice from Reaper about his relationship with Mynxx (a former villain with a convoluted history with Nox). During this discussion, Reaper reveals something about himself personally that surprises Nox. The Edda Train then approaches and the team suffer some losses. Nonetheless they successfully board the train and things start getting strange.
The Breakdown
To start things off, the cover was flat out sweet to look at. This issue finally gets to the origin of Nox and Reaper’s uneasy alliance, which was actually funny as Reaper mocked Nox as usual. The discussion between Nox and Reaper was interesting as he told Nox that saving the world would mean the end of any relationship with Mynxx. The changes in Nox are becoming more obvious and I am interested to see how this gets resolved if they are successful in fighting off the invading Edda. I laughed out loud when the Synthesist showed his true feelings for Reaper as Nox became so uncomfortable with it all. It was nice to see some human civilians (in captivity though) at the end of the issue because the lack of a population has made the comic seem even more desolate thus far. The art was very good once again and I was unaware of this artist until I read the first issue. That is one of the things that I do like about Boom is offering the first issue for one dollar. It’s a full comic and it gives you a chance to see whether or not the title is for you. This is why I gave this issue a shot because I thought if I don’t like it then I only wasted a dollar. I gave it another issue and then by the third I was in this one for the long haul. I was also a fan of the inking in this issue, it was very well done. Nox, The Red Reaper, Absolute, and Mynxx are essentially Batman, Lex Luthor, Superman, and Catwoman respectively. However, I have been slowly forgetting about these comparisons because the characters have ceased being caricatures of other characters and have come into their own. The story is moving along at a good pace and this is easily one of the biggest surprises for me this year.
BUT…
The flashback sequences confused the hell out of me. The one part they are being approached by the Landtrain and the next Nox and Reaper are fighting 6 months ago. I read it as the same chain of events and re-read it a couple of times only to realize that it was a flashback sequence. Reaper’s hair in this issue didn’t look at white as it did in previous issues, it looked more like a reflection of light that made parts of it look white. This is such a minor issue though and I’m just a stickler for consistency.
Buy It, Borrow It, Shelf Read It, or Ignore It?
Buy it. These people aren’t making the big money that the Big Two are. They have to truly believe in what they publish. These comics just don’t go through the motions because they can’t afford to do so. They try to publish high-quality books each month in order to entertain readers. They don’t have the fanfare and publicity machines that the Big Two have. They have to bring their A-game every issue and their efforts should be rewarded. This is one of the better superhero stories that I read this year. I’m not one of those guys against the Big Two and screams to support all indie books, I simply enjoy good comics that come from any publisher. There are good and bad that come from across the board, this is one of the good ones.
