Review – We(l)come Back #3 (BOOM! Studios)

Posted on November 18, 2015 in BOOM! Reviews

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Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Claire Roe
Release Date: 18th November, 2015

We(l)come Back, as a story, has a fantastic energy and dynamic which just seems to keep going. We join Mali where we left her, with a bead on her assigned target. It turns out her target is a Sequel like her that turned Rogue. When a Sequel (what a great name) goes rogue they become fair game for both sides but, Mali doesn’t want to kill him; she wants to know how he does it. She needs to know how he’s survived all this time outside the agency so she can do it too. Naturally, not everything goes quite to plan and this has a profound change on our protagonist.

Meanwhile Tessa, Mali’s Sequel, is sitting at the wrong end of the gun Mali’s father is aiming at her. They have an interesting exchange where we learn a bit more of Tessa’s past and perhaps start to find a little piece of empathy for our antagonist. The exchange ends in a stalemate, but it’s a catalyst for a change in Tessa that may just turn things on its head….

This is such an enjoyable comic to read and you really buy into the story, characters, and world. Christopher Sebela is doing brilliantly with this script and there are a few really interesting turn of events in issue three. The world of the Sequel is so treacherous and fluid, and it really adds a thrilling dynamic to the story and world. Add into that Claire Roe’s energetic art and layouts and you visually get the comic equivalent of an action movie. Almost every panel telegraphs motion in some kind of way, giving emphasis that in the world of the Sequel you can’t stay still, you are always the hunter … or the hunted. No two page layouts are the same, and the panels, speech bubbles and thought boxes are very cleverly placed in a manner that pulls your eyes through the story.I especially love the first page of the issue where Mali’s train of thought literally drags you down the page and through some of her memories, it’s such a wonderfully simple way to transfer a lot of information in an efficient and elegant manner, I couldn’t help but appreciate it.

I really enjoy We(l)come Back, it’s an aggressive and insubmissive story that is going at one hundred miles an hour with us on board and locked in. We’re still not sure if Mali is the hero, and Tessa the villain? In fact, there are so many questions unanswered that it surely can’t wrap everything up in issue four? Damn right it can’t, but thankfully BOOM! came to its senses and We(l)come Back is now an ongoing series.

Fuck, yeah!

Rating: 4/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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