Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Reviewer: Oz Longworth Jr. or (as the Collection Agency calls him) “The Defendant”

There’s nothing anything wrong with “robot with feelings” stories. There’s nothing wrong with Jeff Lemire (All New Hawkeye). And there’s definitely nothing wrong with the signature artwork of Dustin Nguyen. And now the comic gods have blessed us with an awesome non-superhero title including all three. Descender is easily one of the most promising titles Image has put out so far this year. The debut issue was fairly astounding, but can it keep the momentum?

Issue #2 picks up with Tim and Bandit on the run from a dangerous group of Scrappers, deadly bounty hunters who bag and tag robots for pay. As the duo try to evade their foes hiding in the old mining colony, Tim’s memory systems begin to reboot (good to know cloud storage works out okay in the future) which leads us to our first look at Tim’s backstory. Lemire does a masterful job at not only giving us insight into Tim’s beginnings (and how Dr. Quon used to be), but also seamlessly juxtaposing these flashback against the present day plot without either of them feeling boring. Granted, the plot doesn’t advance as much as it could have, but Lemire leaves us with enough material that we don’t mind so much. The approach to Descender is reminiscent of Astro Boy and A.I. (with less Jude Law), fusing near ethereal future vision with some fairy tale sensibilities. In the same way the 2011 film, Hanna, interweaves stylish and gritty, Lemire’s tale so far seems to punch you in the face while keeping your head in the clouds. You can almost hear Daft Punk or the Chemical Brothers playing alongside certain pages. Meanwhile, as far as the visuals go, Dustin Nguyen’s work is above reproach. His color palette offers a unique contrast to Lemire’s aesthetic, putting the reader in the mindset that the events could almost be mistaken for a dream if they’re not paying attention.

Bottom Line: Despite being light on plot progression, the second issue is every bit as refreshingly fun and immersive as the first. Definitely worth coming back for more next month.

4 I Robots out of 5.