Rai #10 Review: The Final Chapter?

 Cover A by Nethro Diaz and Candice Han

With Rai #10, writer Dan Abnett, artist Juan Jose Ryp, colorist Andrew Dalhouse, and letterer Dave Sharpe bring the current series to a close. But their story begins not with Rai, but his little brother Raijin.

 

Rai #9 left us on a cliffhanger, with the organic storm called the Dark attacking New Ur's defenses. It also ended in a battle between the Roman positronic Tekus and Rai and Raijin's Human companion Alice Klane. When Alice's defense fails, Raijin leaps to intervene.

Unfortunately, he is too late.

I love how Raijin's words and stance demonstrate his thoughts and feelings. Unlike Rai, his little brother wears his heart on his sleeve.

Even though he knows Tekus delivered a mortal blow, Raijin sends a signal to Rai. His elder brother may be elsewhere with the city's ruler Fusion. Still, if anything can be done to save Alice, Raijin will leave no stone unturned.

Sadly, Rai is battling Fusion, and cannot spare the effort to communicate with Raijin. Fusion is enraged, believing that in allowing a Human into his city, he has given the Dark a way through his defenses. Everything Fusion has built in New Ur, a city a hundred times larger and more complex than Romulus, is at risk, as the Dark seemingly devours his positronics-only community.

 

Rai was once the premier guardian of the vast orbital city of New Japan. Fusion has enhanced his positronic body with two remnants of Bloodfather's consciousness. In Juan Jose Ryp's hands, the two hack and slash through panels. Like the Dark, their duel consumes and obliterates pages.

 

 

The issue ends amid a combined assault by the Dark and the Kor'Tunga. The latter are the same Human-Animal hybrids who constantly attacked the Human and Positronic inhabitants of Romulus. New Ur seems certain to fall. 

Meanwhile, in Rai and Raijin's home community of Hinansho Town, Bloodfather has detected Lula's efforts to extract the fading shell of Ray Garrison (aka Bloodshot) from the Datastream. The almighty A.I. (artificial intelligence) Bloodfather orders his troops to attack the town peopled with Humans, Positronics, and Kor'Tunga.

 

Cover B by Roberto de la Torre

 

While the series leaves most threads hanging, one storyline comes to a satisfactory--if temporary--resolution. Still, revelations in the final pages open up intriguing possibilities. Let's hope that once the pandemic is over, a sequel series can begin. 

 

Pre-Order cover by Jose Ladronn

While Dan Abnett abandoned single- and two-issue story arcs in the latter half of the series, these final five issues have been full of character growth, drama, and excitement. Juan Jose Ryp's penciling and Andrew Dalhouse's coloring--in all ten issues--gave the saga a consistent and unified appearance. Lastly, I must say that I've never been so impressed with a letterer's efforts than by Dave Sharpe's contributions in this series. 

Despite the break imposed by the pandemic, and the slow return of comics to local stores, this series has remained in my mind. No comic series have I read and reread, or marveled at and wondered about, like I have Rai. Well done Abnett, Ryp, Dalhouse, and Sharpe, as well as editors David Menchel and Lysa Hawkins, and everyone else at Valiant. If I sat on an awards committee, I would readily nominate Rai for Best Comic Series of 2020.

Dragon Dave

Bloodshot 8 Review: A Girl Named Alice

 

Cover A by Bret Blevins

 

As Rai and his positronic brother Raijin scour the Earth of 4002 AD for traces of Bloodfather, they pick up a fellow traveler. Her name is Alice. Like her namesake who fell down a rabbit hole and discovered a completely different world, when New Japan fell from orbit, Alice survived the crash of the orbital city, and has struggled to find her place on a world she knows nothing about.

 

 

When the robots began their journey, they enjoyed a brotherly camaraderie. Sadly, as they have traveled, the gravity of the threat Bloodfather poses to Earth has worn Rai down. He has grown quiet, remote, and more controlling.

His robot brother Raijin has borne Rai's remoteness and stubbornness with greatness of spirit, overlooking the way Rai has treated him. While supposedly less-Human in nature than Rai, Raijin has displayed kindness, patience, and forgiveness.

 

They are an odd couple, as Alice observes. But then, like the characters Alice met in Lewis Carroll's beloved novel, Rai and Raijin are not Human, and should not be judged by Human standards.

 

Nonetheless, Alice knows Rai has not misjudged the threat Bloodfather poses. Along with other survivors of New Japan, she was possessed by Bloodfather. She could only look on, trapped inside her body, as Bloodfather controlled her actions, and forced her to attack and kill people.

 

Not wanting to ever be controlled again, Alice has a vested interest in accompanying Rai and Raijin, and ending the threat of Bloodfather on her new world.

Although her role in the series was not immediately apparent, it has grown as the series developed. I suspect she will play a pivotal role in the culmination of the robot brothers' epic journey.

 

Using Raijin's ability to track the remnants of Bloodfather's consciousness, the trio come across someone who welcomes them to his community.
 

 

Whether he proves friend or foe, and assists them in their quest or impedes them, I'll let you discover for yourself.

 

Pre-Order Cover by Kano

 

In Rai #8, writer Dan Abnett develops upon the themes and events of earlier issues. The artwork of Juan Jose Ryp breathes life into this violent yet whimsical future Earth. Colorist Andrew Dalhouse reveals the grandeur of the travelers' surroundings, while also immersing us in a virtual datastream. There, Rai's friend Lula, also knows as Spylocke, encounters a Valiant hero who very much belongs to our present time. As always, Dave Sharpe's subtle use of fonts bring tonality and feeling to character interaction.

 

Cover by Walt Simonson and Laura Martin

As this series hurtles toward its climax, I can only wonder how Dan Abnett will resolve all the plot threads he has woven into earlier issues. While I will mourn its resolution, I stand in awe of the tour de force this team of talented people have created.

Dragon Dave

Rai #7 Review: The Oncoming Storm

Rai #7 Cover A by Fritz Casas & Candace Han

 

After Rai defends a contingent of Roman soldiers from a horde of mutant animals in Rai #6, you might expect to see Rai in full-on Samurai mode again in Rai #7. Instead, writer Dan Abnett throws us a curveball.

 

 

Anyone who has ever been caught in a forest during a storm knows how defenseless it makes you feel. But in case readers haven't, letterer Dave Sharpe conveys the power of the howling, crashing wind.

 

A young woman, whom we glimpsed in Rai #6, appears and urges Rai and Raijin to follow. She leads them to a cargo pod that survived the fall of the orbital city of New Japan, and ushers them inside. 

Behind Rai and Raijin, colorist Andrew Dalhouse aids letterer Dave Sharpe in conveying just how violent this sudden storm is.

 

 

One of my favorite new characters in the Valiant Universe is Raijin. There's been a lot of talk about Rai's sense of humanity, but long-time readers know this little positronic being has feelings and sensibilities too. 

I like how out-of-sorts penciler Juan Jose Ryp makes him look, when Raijin gains a reprieve from the storm. 

 

But then another noise--not caused by a normal storm--comes from outside. Now Raijin seems much more than merely out-of-sorts.

Meanwhile, Rai's friend Lula, also known as Psylocke, fancies herself an expert in navigating this future world's version of the internet. She has already revealed Rai's presence to Bloodfather once. Still, she refuses to take Rai's warnings about Bloodfather seriously. Confident she will not draw the attention of the malignant Artificial Intelligence that once ruled New Japan, Lula follows breadcrumbs an older and wiser person would avoid. 

 

What will Lula find as she navigates the datastream? Will she draw Bloodfather's attention to her community? 

 

Rai #7 Cover B by Nethro Diaz and Candace Han

 

Will the cargo pod keep Rai and Raijin safe? And if so, what will they find when the storm passes? 

Oh, and who is the young woman we glimpsed in the last issue, and has just rescued Rai and Raijin from the storm?

 

Rai #7 Preorder Cover by Don Perlin & Andrew Dalhouse

Writer Dan Abnett piles up mystery upon mystery in this issue, making Rai #7 a crucial new chapter in this intriguing series.

Dragon Dave