Review: Descender Vol. 3- Singularities

January 31, 2019 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: The character development here is great and reveals a lot about the characters’ pasts. All of the flashbacks are driven forward by meaningful emotions. The artwork is still great.

Cons: Some readers may not like that very little of this comic is set in the present.

Overall: This is a very worthwhile addition to the Descender series that gives readers lots of necessary background information about the characters in this comic. The stories told here are emotional, interesting, and give deeper meaning to the events taking place throughout this comic’s narrative. This makes the comic better as a whole and puts it in a solid position to begin the next story arc. Anyone who has been enjoying this series, especially those who have enjoyed it for the characters, will like this volume.

Story

Descender Vol. 3: Singularities, by Jeff Lemire, is essentially the emotional flashback volume. This collection tells five separate stories that each detail the origin of a specific character. Each one of these origin stories has an emotional twist to it and each one gives more significance and meaning to the actions taking place in the present. Plus, some information from the past has remained a secret since the first volume and is satisfying to finally discover. Overall, despite this volume being light on action, it is still incredibly entertaining and even more emotional than the previous two volumes.

(spoilers start here)

As stated earlier, Singularities is heavily focused on flashbacks that reveal information from different characters’ pasts. This helps develop each character as an individual by showing how the choices they made in the past affect the person or robot they have become in the present. It also reveals information readers have been waiting to discover, like how Andy met his ex-wife or where Driller’s famous phrase comes from. Either way, it is great to learn more about who these characters are and why we should care about them.

This feeling is further enhanced by the levels of emotion present throughout this collection. Each of these characters has been put through some sort of physical or emotional trauma in the past. Tim-22 was abused, Telsa lost her mother and had a strained relationship with her father, Bandit saw his “family” die around him, Effie lost her loved ones to pursue a greater sense of purpose, and Driller killed an entire colony to avenge his friend. These levels of emotion help the reader find a deeper connection with the characters and makes each one easier to sympathize with.

If there is a problem with this particular volume it may come from the fact that this entire comic almost exclusively takes place through five separate flashbacks. Despite the previous volume ending on a cliffhanger, very little of this volume actually addresses what is going on in the present. I personally appreciated the focus on character development but could see some readers not enjoying it.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Singularities is still gorgeous. Dustin Nguyen’s watercolor designs are fantastic and offer a visual experience that remains distinct from other comics on the market. The distinct color contrasts and minimalist approach to backgrounds continue to highlight important story elements and draw the reader’s eye right where it needs to go.

The only problem here is that the environments seen throughout this volume are not quite as unique and imaginative as they were in previous volumes. Since this story is primarily focused on character development, it mostly revolves around different characters talking to one another, which doesn’t make for the most visually impressive pages. In addition, the book mostly takes place in the past, so readers are familiar with most of the environments seen here already. Everything still looks great on its own but the visuals as a whole are not quite as instantly impressive as they were in previous volumes.