Rook: Exodus #9 // Review
Three wardens of banded together, but things are still tense. Bloodhound’s gone made through his psychic connection with the dogs. He’s Dire Wolf’s father and they’re there to get him. He may be the only one who can help them repair the World Engine. Right now he’s being held by some warden with antlers. Given the fact that he’s got him in a headlock, there’s no way they’re going to be able to rescue the madman without a fight ing Rook: Exodus #9. Writer Geoff Johns and artist Jason Fabok continue their space fantasy serial with color artist Brad Anderson.
Bloodhound isn’t going to be of much help in getting him away from the warden with the antlers. To make matters worse, the hostile warden moves faster than anyone Rook’s ever seen. He isn’t having much trouble at all defending himself against three other wardens AND maintaining his hold on Bloodhound. They’re going to be have a hell of a time trying to bring him down. Things are only going to get more difficult when the spiders arrive to attack all four of them Naturally they’re going to be under the control of a completely different warden altogether...someone sinister.
Johns manages some are very deft work in delivering a two-part issue. It isn't easy to manage a battle that takes pretty much the half of a whole issue. It tends to be the case that these things get kind of tedious and disinteresting after the first couple of pages unless there's something truly original like it's placed into the story. Thankfully, Johns is able to manage a whole different kind of conflict with the second half of the issue. The psychic journey into ensemble went a bit of dramatic depth to the serial that makes the characters just a little bit more emotionally accessible to the reader.
There's some beautifully atmospheric work being done here. Fabok frames the action with a clever hand. Establishing shots help to lock in an atmosphere that is brought vividly to life by Anderson’s colors. The action hits the page very sharply. When the spiders arrived, there's a kind of horror going on that has an interesting interaction with the story visually. So much of the series has just been animals against animals. Throw in a few arachnids, and it becomes more of a horror experience. That horror science fiction fantasy feel broadens the visual appeal of the series considerably.
Johns and company do a really good job of moving the serial forward in a way that is both engaging as an action series and provocative as for drama. Johns’ work developing. The overall field of the series has been well structured throughout the story thus far. It's been a great deal of fun. The fusion between traditional super-powered action and struggled between animals has a very distinctive field that isn't quite being hit by anything else on the comic book rack today. It's remarkably enjoyable stuff as it moves forward.
