The book begins with an absolute treat as Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley are reunited for a Battle Beast story. The story serves as a commentary on our culture of conflict as entertainment even at the cost of self destruction. Battle Beast is a villain from Invincible and this story serves as a prelude to what will hopefully be a series reuniting the perfect comics team. Battle Beast leaves earth disappointed in the poor level of competition.
The computer of a ship whose crew he has slaughtered asks for his motivations. Battle Beast, or Thokk, divulges his greatest frustrations and hopes as he feasts on the entrails of the ship’s crew. Thokk created a Utopia from the destruction of his enemies upon his home world but then had to leave before he destroyed it from his continued rage. He now travels the universe searching for a worthy object for his rage and violence with the ultimate hope that it will kill him.
The computer reveals it wants revenge for the death of its crew and agrees to guide Thokk to great battles out of hope that it will kill him. The story is simple but the art and dialogue are so incredibly perfect and reminder of just how exponentially great this creative team is together. The colors by Annalisa Leoni just drip of the page with bloody delight.
The second story is a perfect paradigm by Joshua Williamson and artist Andrei Bressan. A man takes his kids to an amusement park of evil dedicated to the devil. They wait in an endless line until the man sees someone he assumes cut the line and beats him. The themes plays out like the film Seven where the park inspires sinfulness even while minimizing the consequences of those actions. There is clearly a larger commentary about corporate fandom and the devil ears serve the role of Mickey Mouse ears. The art lifts the entire experience as the imagery and colors combine the ordinary with violence and evil. This story is a prelude to an upcoming series and it’ll be fascinating to see how the themes play out.
The next story by Lorenzo De Felici is by far the best as Kroma is introduced as a city without color. Predators stalk the edges of the city but cannot make out black or white. Krum leads a party of explorers out into the color to expand the borders of the city. Unfortunately things go horribly awry as a colorful animal intrudes on their plans and leads to a predatory attacking. The survivors flee but the city elder at the wall orders them all killed before they can reach the city walls contaminated by bloody colors. The art is brutal and this story is uniquely appropriate for a comic as we can nicely see the contrast of the black and white city space contrasted by the surrounding colors. It’s a nice visual and a unique story leading to a future series as well.
The final story is the weakest with Mac Smith from Stray Dogs fame introducing his upcoming book Scurry. This is meant for a younger audience and the art is off the wall incredible. But the story itself feels mundane as two house mice travel through their assigned house target searching for food. Wix and Umf find the house has already been cleaned out. They meet a dog Dolly and rodent Mobley who have eaten all the humans left behind already.
The crew flee as a pack of mad dogs attack. They escape the house through an old dog door before setting off to find food in houses they were not assigned to. The art and imagery here are definitely perfect for an all ages audience. We get a great perspective from the ground and truly are brought into the action. The story itself doesn’t carry much thematic weight but it is a fun ride with fantastic colors and art.
Skybound X #25 takes us on a journey into the future of the Skybound brand and image comics. It is a fantastic future full of interesting stories, unique concepts and great characters. It will be fascinating to see if these concepts and characters can succeed in longer form for years to come.
Writing: 5 of 5 stars
Art: 4.8 of 5 stars
Colors: 5 of 5 stars
Overall: 4.9 of 5 stars
Writing: Robert Kirkman and others
Art: Ryan Ottley and others
Colors: Annalisa Leoni and others
Publisher: Image Comics
Author Profile
- M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.
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