Nocterra #7
The Sundog convoy hunts down the location of Eos in Nocterra #7, by writers Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel, art by Daniel, inkers Sandu Florea and Daniel, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letters by Andworld Design. Snyder and company set up the next phase of the story in this one.
The Sundog convoy makes its way to Outpost 31, an outpost on the coast. They’re on the trail of Eos, the place where Augustus supposedly hid something that could end the Big PM. They find the outpost nearly completely abandoned, learning that human shades came in and pulled everyone out. As they leave, they’re attacked by Megas, the pinnacle of the shade food chain. Meanwhile, Blacktop Bill communicates with his superiors but is cut off when his power dies. He encounters three assassins sent after him because of how he did the last job. He makes short work of them, then goes on his way. One of the rigs is hit by the Megas and dropped into the water. Val and company are unable to save them before a whale shade eats them. Out of easy leads, Val decides to take the convoy in a very dangerous direction.
The world-building of Nocterra has always been stellar, and this issue is no different. Snyder and Daniel do a lot of little things to expand the world in this installment, building up the mythology of the shades. Things like the Megas are fascinating, and it makes sense that there’d be a lot of them by the water, where animals would congregate. On top of that, the lore of human shades is built up. They may not be as feral as readers have been led to believe, or they may have someone in charge of them, which is also teased with Blacktop Bill.
The plot itself is fast and furious. Maybe a bit too fast at times, but that’s okay; that is the kind of book Nocterra is. Piper narrates the book instead of Elle, talking about the mathematics of things. She’s lived in this world her whole life, so she has a different perspective on things. Snyder and Daniel introduce a lot of new characters in this issue, but none of them really get much spotlight. It kind of feels like they are just there to be sacrificed, so it will be interesting to see how Snyder and Daniel play this.
Daniel’s art is hit or miss in this issue. It may be because of the different inker, but his figure work isn’t as good as it usually is. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some great-looking pages in this book. There’s a nice two-page spread of the convoy, and the pages introducing the Outpost 31 look great as well. The whale shade looks excellent as well and is an example of how cool shades can look in this book.
Nocterra #7 does some great world-building and sets this new story arc on its road. It’s a little too fast-paced at times and the art isn’t perfect throughout, but it’s still a good book.
