Skyward #8

Image Comics

Writer: Joe Henderson

Artist: Lee Garbett

“HERE THERE BE DRAGONFLIES,” Part Three!

Willa, Edison and the rest of the survivors are escorted by Lucas and his colleagues back to their farm – Barrow Agricultural. It’s obvious that something’s amiss from the get-go as, for starters, the cattle is nowhere to be seen. It doesn’t take long for Lucas to explain the situation, though. Apparently, the cows have all been eaten by the bugs. Therefore, the farmers quickly adapted to the new situation and became hunters. The food the citizens have been eating? Yes, it’s bug meat. 

Willa is still struggling with decoding the secrets in her father’s notebook, while Edison is feeling left out. And he is obviously distrustful and kinda jealous about Lucas. And rightfully so – there is definitely something off about him and the rest of his gang. But nothing is as it seems as we learn by the end of the issue.

The Ups

As always, Lee Garbett does an excellent job with his artwork. The issue isn’t as action-packed the previous one, with more focus put on world-building and character exposition, but he still manages to slip in some fine-looking and exciting pages. Antonio Fabela further elevates the artwork with his awesome colouring. As always.

Now let’s talk about the writing of the book. After years of consuming all sorts of entertainment media, you grow accustomed to many different types of tropes. It gets to a point where you can guess, without a fault, a lot of the plot points in a piece of work. This is why it’s always refreshing to see creators subvert the consumers’ expectations (which is, in itself, a trope of its own), and Joe Henderson manages to pack in quite a surprise with the ending of this issue thanks to this very trope. It’s a really nice moment, one that keeps the reader hooked and moves the story forward in some unexpected ways.

The Downs

There really isn’t much to complain about, honestly. Lucas and his gang still feel kinda bland, but the cliffhanger manages to make them a bit more compelling.

And why the hell are they all sleeping in beds? I mean, it’s funny seeing them tied to beds so they don’t end up floating, but the fact that they lie in beds makes no sense. Then again, it’s better not to get too much into the specifics of the zero-gravity world because, honestly, there are loads of things that don’t make sense.

Verdict

Skyward continues to be a great and interesting read thanks to Garbett’s fantastic art and Henderson’s compelling writing. Willa is a great lead and hopefully the creative team will build a great cast of supporting characters.

I am looking forward to the future of the series AND the upcoming adaptation by Sony Entertainment.