Originally posted on Irish Comic News (28/Sept/2017)
Written by Greg Pak.
Line art by Takeshi Miyazawa.
Colour art by Triona Farrell.
Letters by Simon Bowland.The story opens at the Sky Corps Academy where the head of the Academy is selecting the next batch of cadets to be paired off with the mechs that are expected to arrive shortly. The readers attention is drawn to the back of the hall where we can see the excited face of Stanford Yu. But all is not as it seems, Stanford isn’t there as a cadet. He wandered in while working on the cleaning staff. The reader is only three pages in and Pak has given us plenty of information about the cadets and mechs, as well as creating a potential feud between Stanford and one of the cadets. The initial meeting of Stanford and the mech really had the vibe of the Iron Giant film. I’m a big fan of the film so I’m sold on this comic at this point.
The line art by Miyazawa is excellent. Whether it’s people or mechs, Miyazawa gives each character a distinctive look. He goes a great job with conveying what the characters are feeling. Only a couple of pages in and I’m wanting things to work out for Stanford. There is a brief punch up between some mechs and it suggest promising things with any fight sequences in later issues.
The colours by Farrell are bright and cheerful in keeping with the mood of the comic. I did like the colour choice for the sky where Stanford meets the mech. It’s a warm shade of pink which works as a good contrast to the blue of the mech. There’s a splash page where the mech looks like it’s about to fly off the page with the pink sky behind it.
Bowland does a good turn with the lettering. Mechs and people have their lettering type and speech bubbles. There’s also use of colour on the text when people are speaking via the mechs communication system. A variety of subtle differences to give the reader clarity as to the source of any given piece of dialogue.
It’s a cheerful start to what is sure to be a fun adventure for Stanford after his unexpected selection to be a cadet by the mech. If you like mechs or the Iron Giant film then you may enjoy this comic.