Ascender Volume 1: The Haunted Galaxy

I was expecting this to be Return of the Jedi but it's more Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, but, y'know, better?

In the post-apocalyptic aftermath of Descender Andy Tavers' daughter, Mila, takes center stage as she prepares to save the universe or something with her own ragtag crew. A new major villain and lots of action and thrills keep the story moving even as the new status quo is filled in around the edges.

Here's hoping this shorter series stays more focused than the meandering Descender.

I finished Descender last year and absolutely loved it. Ascender was one of my most anticipated releases, but I was a coward and kept on putting this off because I was sure it could not live up to it's predecessor. While this isn't quite the same thing, it still snuck up on me and I finished reading it with tears on my face. (The impact would not have been the same if I was unfamiliar with Descender.) Can't wait for Volume 2.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Jeff Lemire's comics and graphic novels. Fortunately, he's a very prolific author and artist and keeps the new stuff coming fairly regularly. I loved his Descender series that he wrapped up at the end of 2018. That final volume ended with a tease that a new related series was in the works. This is the first collected volume of that comic series.

Ascender is set in the same universe as Descender but begins ten years after the events of Descender's final issue. Things are very very different. There are some familiar characters but it's very much the beginning of an entirely new setting and story.

This first volume which contains the first five issues of the comic is much heavier on stage setting and show more world building than it is on the story. There's plenty of story and some major things happen but it's clearly the starting point. It's absolutely a story I want to continue.

As with Descender, Lemire works with artist Dustin Nguyen for this series. His watercolor artwork continues to be varied and interesting. He's clearly playing with some softer tones and different palettes in this one. It's still just as beautiful. show less

I think I like this even more than Descender, more magic and monsters, but still some sci-fi stuff and a bunch of links to the past. Can't wait to see where it goes.

Back in the Descender world by popular demand, this Star Wars tribute space opera/magic mash-up story takes place 10 years after the Harvester/UGC galactic war. And this time our protagonists, Mila (the daughter of Andy and Effie) and Andy are stuck on the lonely anti-technological planet Sampson and are trying to stay out of the clutches of the evil disciples of the all-powerful technophobe vampire witch know as Mother. But when a certain robot pal shows up, Andy and Mila must go on the run.

This story is just as good as Descender, if not better. And of course, Dustin Nguyen's art is just astounding. It's been a long time since the art within a comic really excited me and this series just blows my mind.

It's hard to review comics even trade bindups, but I liked the first volume. The return to familiar characters, the development after the aftermath of the previous series, and the beginning of a story that promises to be as good as the last.

I can't believe how happy I was to return to this universe. Although much of the story is built upon trope very familiar to science fiction fans, it's still so enjoyable and the quality of the art is hilarious and engaging. Eager to see the next collection come to Hoopla.