Comic Review: Home Sick Pilots #4

Home Sick Pilots #4

Image Comics

Writer: Dan Watters

Art: Caspar Wijngaard & Aditya Bidikar

Home Sick Pilots, the book, is back this month with even more development for the Home Sick Pilots’ story. There’s a reunion, ghosts manifest in 90’s technology and there’s a suit of armor in there with the mix. Needless to say, this was a very exciting issue so let’s get to it.

The chapter starts with some shadowy figures walking over a matrix of television screens and apparently learning of Ami’s current ghost retrieving mission in Santa Manos. Then we cut to her perspective where she’s being chased by a VHS tape severely possessed by a ghost. Turns out this isn’t the one she’s there to retrieve for Old James House. After attempting to disable this ghost and failing, the House makes use of Ami’s friend, Buzz, who’s now been provided with a suit of armor in order to save his lost friend.

Watters’ keeps delivering with this series. Not only the lore expansion is more and more interesting but this entire issue sets up an analogy of Ami’s relationship with Old James House as an abusive one. It starts with a description of the beginning, where all is good and Ami’s mentions her excitement and happiness and it just goes downhill from there as Ami trying to defend it and then realizing there’s no way to do it.

Wijngaard’s work continues as sublime as ever as well, maintaining the level of quality alongside the writing. Since this issue contains tons of action it was very nice seeing how the artist chooses to portray movement opting mostly for blurred backgrounds with static images portraying the movements but also using dust clouds and blurred lines here or there. The coloring is still a crucial element of every scene, setting the tone and beautifully applied in pages where the panels alter between Ami and Buzz in the few moments before they meet.

Bidikar continues to letter comics awesomely. In this issue, we get the ‘FOOM’ panel yet again which, honestly, I adore. However, the new addition is when Old James’ ghost speaks. His bubbles are black with white font making it feel, at least for me, as he has a fading but deep voice. A nice touch for immersion was Buzz’s bubble getting “wrinkly” after he gets a beat up, with perfectly shows how much it took him to be witty in the middle of a fight.

Home Sick Pilots‘ creative team continues to be amazing at what they’re doing and deliver an original story and setting. The series’ lore is yet to expand as we see in this issue and I’m excited for that most of all. I did like Watter’s approach to describing an abusive relationship but there are still somethings I don’t understand with this book. However, for this reviewer, this is all the more reason to keep reading it for now.