Publisher: Image Comics
Writer(s): David Schulner, Aaron Ginsburg, Wade McIntyre
Artist(s): Juan Jose Ryp, Andy Troy
Release Date: 5th March 2014

Ayato Hatanaka has a sanctuary; an island inhabited solely by clones. No humans allowed. He has offered Luke and his large group of clones a place to escape to. It’s just as well. The vast majority of people, as well as the authorities, have taken to hunting them down. The net is closing in.

The art is unbelievable. The level of detail is simply stunning. The fact that it can look so good and also capture the frenzied movement of a massive siege is awesome. You can see the filth of grimy restrooms, see the beauty of the promised island and feel the impact of whizzing bullets ripping through the farm house setting. Character expression is captured beautifully and the lighting and fluidity from panel to panel is masterful. There aren’t many comics out there that look this good.

Every character has their own personality which is captured well through dialogue and even with so many clones, the team have done well to stick to the few key characters that matter. Some of the more dramatic yelling that goes on might put some readers off but it fits entirely with the personalities on the page.

At the end of each book, you can read the honest thoughts from a member of the creative team. Last month, Ginsburg wrote that the team ‘took the model for writing hour long television’ when piecing Clone together; it shows with a clear beginning, middle and end to each issue. This book, however, would cost a vast fortune to pull off effectively. It’s a great blend of mediums which takes on the advantages of each.

There is much to like about this series. The strapline of this book reads, ‘Not all Clones are Created Equal.’ There are many different types of clones born from the same person and they are all different beings. It’s a very satisfying premise and this issue falls nothing short of being an explosive ending to an awesome piece of Sci-Fi.

Rating: 5/5.

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The writer of this piece was: James McQueen
You can also find James on Twitter.