Ascender #16
All roads lead to Dirishu-6 in Ascender #16, by writer Jeff Lemire, artist Dustin Nguyen, and letterer Steve Wands. Lemire begins arraying forces, getting things ready for a titanic showdown.
Everything in this issue is honestly pretty basic. Tim-21 talks to Mila and crew about why they ended up on Dirishu-6; they’re discovered by the Gnishians, who let Mother and her sister know where they are. Mother orders the Red Guard to leave Sampson, and that’s how Andy and Effie find out. They make a surprising discovery about Kanto and his village before Mother’s attack intensifies, and they flee into space and Dirishu-6. On Dirishu, Mother’s forces attack, chasing everyone into mines. Tim-21 strides forward with Driller, ready to face down Mother and her sister.
Overall, this is an excellent issue, but it doesn’t really reach the heights of other installments of Ascender. However, it also doesn’t feel like it was meant to either. Ascender can be a very emotional book, but this issue is basically just an issue of set-up; it exists to move all the pieces into place, and it does that quite well. Any more questions about the nature of magic in the universe or the world of technology aren’t getting answered in this issue. However, it does what it needs to do efficiently.
There are a few little surprises, but they all feel like they’re meant to even up the odds with the forces of Mother- Tim’s UGC rebels are based on Dirishu and Andy, and Effie’s discovery about Kanto and his people give the forces of good even more ammo in the fight. On top of that, there’s the question of what is going to happen with Mother and her sister, the new Mother. Will Mother let her sister brutalize her more, or will she lash out against her? Lemire perfectly sets everything up for the next phase of the story.
As usual, Nguyen’s art knocks it out of the park. There’s a great full-page spread of Tim talking about the chaos of the galaxy under Mother, with past events being shown, and it looks spectacular. On top of that, there’s a lot of great action scenes throughout the book, and, as usual, Nguyen’s character acting is top-notch.
Ascender #16 is yet another example of Lemire’s way of setting up pieces for the inevitable end. He knows exactly how to array everything and bring in new plot points. This issue also does a great job of building tension, making readers wonder what’s going to happen next. Again, Nguyen’s art makes the whole thing sing. While there are no massive story-changing moments, this is still a great read.
