Comic Review: Ascender #1

Ascender #1

Image Comics

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Dustin Nguyen

Ten years have passed since The Machine War. Ten years since the Harvesters came, took all the robots and decimated the galactic population. Where once there were billions, now there are barely millions. The rules have changed considerably and UGC is far from the dominant force – the elusive vampire witch, known only as Mother, has taken control of what remains. It seems that, in the absence of machinery, magic reigns supreme.

The story begins with Mother arriving at one of her many bases. Their disciples have managed to capture a member of the resistance – remnants of the UGC – and she wants to question him herself. There is a powerful magic user protecting and helping the UGC fight the Mother and her reign of tyranny. She will not have it.

The story then shifts to the new protagonist – Mila, the daughter of Andy and Effie, two very important characters from Descender. She and Andy are living a secluded and… ‘free’ life in the mountains of Samson, away from Mother’s civilization. Mila isn’t too happy about her hermit lifestyle. She feels the call for adventure but is unable to answer it. However, a hound from space almost hits Mila. it’s the Hound with the Backwards Tongue. Things are about to change.

While Ascender might be a continuation of Descender, the latter isn’t really necessary for enjoying the former. Sure, being familiar with it has it’s own perks and bonuses – the main one is that it’s a wonderful sci-fi epic – but you can skip it if you want to get right into Ascender. It’s basically a whole new series with a brand new setting and (almost) completely new cast. 

The first arc of the book is poised to follow the tried-and-true ‘Hero’s Journey’ template. Some might find the template dull and stale, but there are reasons why it’s used so often and why it’s such a great fit for stories. Lemire does a great job introducing the new players – Mother and Mila – while also giving us some backstory about the last ten years. I feel he handled this part a lot better than he did in Descender, which depended too much on explanatory dialogue. There is enough exposition to inform us about the new rules, but it also doesn’t overburden us with needless information.

The shift in setting is a welcome one. Space travel is still a thing, despite the change to a fantasy setting. This opens up the possibility for some really nice genre-bending. A fantasy epic with space opera undertones sounds like a blast.

Dustin Nguyen, the co-creator and artist of Descender, takes on the same role for Ascender. While I liked his work on their previous effort, It never blew my mind. However, his style seems to be a way better fit for the fantasy setting then the sci-fi themes of its predecessor. The more organic and natural designs benefit from the painted style way more than the hard, mechanical designs of Descender ever did. Both series have their roots in Lovecraftian horror, but Ascender’s art evokes those roots way better. Mother’s Floating Stronghold above Mata looks, at least to me, more enigmatic and eerie than the Harvesters ever did.

How Jeff Lemire manages to juggle between so many great books is beyond me. Just by looking at his workload, one might be concerned about the quality of Ascender. But there is no need to worry. Not only is Ascender a fantastic book, but it emits a sense of energy and creativity you don’t get every day.