Comics Grinder

DESCENDER #1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen

Image Comics returns to Seattle for this year’s Emerald City Comicon on Friday, March 27 through Sunday, March 29. You can expect an impressive assortment of creator-owned panels, signings, and con exclusive variant covers like the one above for DESCENDER #1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, priced at $5 (#Y-05, also available at Image booth #312). DESCENDER is about a young robot’s struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. Read my review here.

Here’s a rundown on Image Comics variant covers at ECCC:

VARIANTS SOLD AT THE IMAGE BOOTH (#312):

LOW, VOL. 1 hardcover by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini, $35

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #9 by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, $5 (also available at creator table #II-06)

DESCENDER #1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, $5 (also available at creator table #Y-05)

VARIANTS SOLD AT CREATORS’ TABLES:

SEX CRIMINALS, VOL. 2 hardcover by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, $40 (Table #II-04)

WAYWARD, VOL. 1 hardcover by Jim Zub and Steven Cummings, $30 (Table #HH-11)

DESCENDER #1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, $5 (#Y-05, also available at Image booth #312)

INVISIBLE REPUBLIC #1 by Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko, $10 (#HH-05)

WAYWARD #6 variants by Jim Zub and Steven Cummings, starting at $5, blank sketch covers for $10 or $25 with sketch (Table #HH-11)

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #9 by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, $5 (also available at Image booth #312)

For a full schedule of Image Comics events at Emerald City Comicon, visit our friends at Image Comics right here.

“Descender #1” distinguishes itself right out of the gate by being a visual feast much in the same spirit as Jeff Lemire won us over with stunningly beautiful artwork in his own comics. This time around, it’s Jeff Lemire as writer on this project and Dustin Nguyen as artist. Let the art loose and do what it will do and all else falls into place.

Okay, okay, we’ve got a machines vs. humans story. Nothing new there, at first glance. But, of course, we’ve grown to expect great things from Jeff Lemire and he does not disappoint us here. And I’ll tell you now that the art is stand-alone outstanding and is made up of exuberant fun gestural work in watercolor or some digital equivalent. Looks to me to be hand-made goodness.

Jump right into the story: The United Galactic Council has banned all androids after an attack by a group of hyper-sophisticated giant robots known as the Harvesters. Just like all Japanese in the United States were instantly suspected of treason in World War II America, so we have all androids suspected of the same in this future world. And our focus falls on one particular android boy, Tim. With any luck, Tim will find his way to, Jin, a scientist who has fallen into alcoholism but who has awakened to a greater purpose.

That’s really all you need to know right now. If you frequent comic book shops, you know how much Image Comics means to a lot of folks. Image Comics has got a magic touch with publishing fanciful sci-fi stories, to put it in a nutshell. And “Descender” is your latest prime example and is available as of March 4. Go to it, and get yourself a copy. For more details, visit our friends at Image Comics right here.