Review – Cognetic #3 (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Eryk Donovan,
Release Date: 16th December 2015

In the finest nihilistic traditions of John Carpenter, James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan bring about the apocalypse they promised in grim fashion. Really fucking grim! In this final issue, we see humanity brought to its knees, devoid of free will, and unconsciously wiping itself out under the control of a higher power seeking its vision of the ideal society.

In their quest for universal harmony, the extra-terrestrial entities responsible for the chosen’s ‘gift’, sees the individual as expendable, each person becoming part of a beast who seeks to shape the world to his will. Eryk Donovan’s art once more gives the idea terrifying life, showing crowds clambering over themselves to become one with the monsters on either side of the conflict, and the final horrifying fate of the human race in a superbly staged piece of visual storytelling.

Tynion IV has gone to some dark places in Cognetic, and he sadistically snuffs out any light of hope as the issue comes to it’s inevitable conclusion, but he has also asked a number of searching questions about the concept of Utopia, and how subjective that idea is. We know that one man’s perfect world can often be another’s idea of Hell, but should those who hold the reins of power force their vision upon us? Or should we be free to choose our own, no matter how divided we are as a species, and how regressive and harmful some of our values might be. This has been the basis of a fascinating central conflict between the colour-coded siblings, and will leave you with plenty to ponder long after you’ve put the book down.

Going into Cognetic knowing it’s part of an ‘Apocalypse Trilogy’, you accept that things are not going to end well. Just how rough it was going get is entirely another matter, so this final issue in the series was always going to be intriguing, but it’s jarring final moments were the icing on a deliciously twisted cake.

Rating: 4/5.

The Writer of this piece was: Martin Doyle
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