Review: Extermination #6
Published by Boom! Studios
Written by Simon Spurrier
Art by V Ken Marion
The Plot
This issue continues with Mynxx in trouble with the Edda holding her at gun point. The Read Reaper continues with the others towards further into the train while Nox stays behind to determine how to rescue Mynxx. Nox manages to find a way out of the situation while utilizing information he remembered from a flashback. Reaper continues his villainous ways as he continues to make his way. Mynxx is very grateful to Nox and they share a tender moment. Then they encounter Reaper who is now by himself. Nox then has a flashback about an adventure that he had with the Synthesist and a separate one with Kordite. Nox then decides to utilize Mynxx to “activate” Tusker’s powers, which he is able to deduce from another previous flashback (this time with Tusker). There is a hitch in the plan with the Edda Train and it results in Nox and Reaper both getting separated and able to both follow their own agendas.
The Breakdown
I am glad that Reaper has shown his villainous side once again. Things were getting a little too cozy for my liking. He doesn’t become full on evil, but he gives you enough to remind you that he is indeed a super villain. Nox continues to learn that there have to be compromises made in order to survive during the invasion. If they successfully repel the invasion I am interested to see how he comes to grips with everything. Nox’s cheesiness continues to amuse me as well (“crush some crime”). My appreciation for Nox and Reaper’s relationship has been renewed with this issue as they both have different cards to play. The part where Mynxx had to activate Tusker was hilarious after reading the flashback. At first, I had no idea what she was doing until the flashback sequence happened and then it made it really funny. The Synthesist is an unusual individual and his manner of speaking suits him quite well. I like it when a writer provides a character with little idiosyncracies in order to help build up that character…it offers a nice touch. The flashback sequences do provide readers with the opportunity to actually learn the context and backgrounds of different relationships with the characters. They are brief, but are effective at helping the reader to gain more of a sense of what the world was like and how the characters know one another. It also helps readers to actually care about these characters as well. This is important because we were dropped right in the middle of a war during the first issue. The art continues to impress and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Marion’s work in the future. This book is far from decompressed as it continues to move along at a quick pace. However, it’s not too quick as the story has contained a lot of depth and subplots. It is refreshing to read something that has not been structured to fit perfectly into a trade.
BUT…
This book might be moving towards a conclusion sooner than later with all that’s going on. I am enjoying this book a great deal, but as quickly as something is introduced it seems to be gone within the next issue or two. This does make it a bit harder to become invested in anything that may be coming up in future issues. The flashbacks are getting easier to read, but I still think they’d be more effective if they were coloured slightly differently or something. They just pop up and it still takes me a second to adjust.
Buy It, Borrow It, Shelf Read It, or Ignore It?
Buy It. This comic has been a really fun ride thus far. It’s well-written and well-balanced. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these books need the support of readers and they provide a great alternative to the Big Two. These people have a story to tell and their efforts are very obvious. I am definitely sticking with this series until it reaches its conclusion. The owner at one of my LCS’s recommended this title to me and I’m really glad that I took his advice. This one is definitely a recommendation on my part.
