Cherish #4 // Review
A highly-trained high-tech warrior is well on her way toward finding the identity of her father’s killer. She may not be ready to find out the true nature of the mystery that has come to consume her life in Cherish #4. Writer Katana Collins begins to draw her story to a close with the aid of artist Gabriel Caitano and colorist Omi Remalante Jr. The cyberpunky, corporate murder mystery continues to be kind of fun, even if there isn’t much about the title character that feels distinct enough to give a terribly strong impression of anything new.
Cherish’s search for the one who killed her father finds her running headlong into the woman who had trained her to fight so long ago. Cherish may not be as accomplished as her former mentor, but she’s got tech that she didn’t have in training, and there’s a good chance that she’ll emerge victorious. The only question is: will she do so without incurring the deaths of anyone she cares about? She IS looking for aid in the form of the guy who taught her about tech when she was a little girl. Cherish confronts her past on her path to revenge.
Collins’s straight-ahead action mystery seems to be checking quite a few standard corporate intrigue boxes on its way to its inevitable conclusion. Cherish seems like a nice character, but there isn’t a whole lot that separates her from way too many other badass sci-fi cyberpunk heroines. She’s got a bit of a notable look about her, but a woman who is looking for revenge for the murder of her father doesn’t have anything truly unique about it to make it feel like something other than a vague dream echoing in from strange visions of the future.
Caitano renders the action in a straightforward manner that is clear and kinetic without overwhelming the page. Remalante’s colors are particularly vivid in the glowing green of Cherish’s tech. There’s a moment on the beach beneath a full moon that manages to look elegant. The visual world of Cherish is distinct enough that it couldn’t be mistaken for any other comic book on the rack right now. Too bad there isn’t anything iconic or inventive to give it any kind of lasting impact.
Overall, the idea of Cherish is not without some potential. The tragic backstory of the hero seems to be dragging down the possibilities. A character with skills and drive like Cherish could really chart interesting territory in the near future of the setting. There are quite a few places in and within the cyberpunk subgenre that comic books don’t often explore, and Cherish is uniquely lined up to explore these places. Theoretically, once Collins has navigated around the backstory, Cherish might have room to breathe and get into some of the more shadowy dramatic aspects of cyberpunk.
