Skyward #11
Image Comics
Writer: Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Garbett
The third and final act of Willa’s story begins with the newest issue of Skyward.
After Willa and Edison freed Barlow and had a showdown with Lucas and his gang of crazy bug-farmers, the duo had to split up. Edison took the train back to Chicago to prepare everyone for the impending Giant Bug invasion, while Willa took off for Kansas City to try and ‘fix the world’. The trip has its share of problems. Not only is she crossing a desert, which has a greater risk of going ‘skyward’, but she also has to get to the big red button before Barlow does. Who stole her father’s plans. And also has a jetpack. And she’s being trailed by an oh-so-mysterious-I-wonder-who-it-is person. Edison isn’t having a jolly good time either – he is a wanted terrorist, after all. He has to work fast though, as the bug-farmers aren’t that far behind.
Henderson and Garbett could have taken the easy way out, dragging out the reveal of the ‘fix’ until the penultimate or even final issue and making it the most obvious solution. But that’s not how it all goes down. The choice is… interesting, to say the least. It’s not something I expected and I can’t decide if I like the ‘solution’, or find it dumb. It does make you think about it, that’s for sure. I’ll probably have to wait until the end and see how it all plays out before making my mind about it.
The OTHER big reveal of the book isn’t really that big and surprising, but it does raise some questions. Henderson promised to address all of those questions in #12, so I’m looking forward to that. Getting some backstory and world building is always nice, especially in new and interesting settings. It will also be cool to see this new character interact with the other characters, especially Willa. Henderson has proven that he has a knack for writing fun dialogue and interesting (if not a bit cliched) characters.
As always, the standout part of Skyward is the art. Lee Garbett has been putting out stellar work for the previous ten issues of the book and it’s nice to see this trend continue. Especially after being a bit disappointed with his work in this month’s Thor, which featured him as a guest artist. The ruins of Kansas City, which was overrun by giant bugs not too long ago, are beautiful (in a sad kind of way), as are the three splash pages towards the end which I don’t want to spoil.
But let’s be honest, Garbett’s pencils wouldn’t be as breathtaking if they weren’t accompanied by Fabela’s colours. His beautiful, perfect colours. For eleven issues, he has been delivering some stellar work. Especially when doing outdoor scenes, which are always so gorgeous thanks to the vibrant palette he loves to employ.
Skyward is approaching the end of its short-but-sweet run and the creative team isn’t pulling any punches. There is promise of spectacle with the ‘Battle of Chicago’ and the book most likely still has quite a few twists and turns up its sleeves. Looking forward to the final four issues.
Start reading Skyward so you can be smug about it once the movie comes out. And because it's really, really good.
