Geiger #24 // Review
Six soldiers are trying to hold-back Tariq. They’re doing a pretty good job of it, at least initially. He’s threatening the commanding officer. Tariq’s telling him that he’s a dead man. The gentleman in question says that he knows that Tariq’s said things like that before and then gone on to commit some kind of murder. The gentleman in question has done the exact same things in the past. Tariq is in real danger in Geiger #24. Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank continue a post-apocalyptic adventure fantasy with colorist Brad Anderson. It’s a sharply-executed lead-in to the big 25th anniversary issue next month.
The gentleman is in charge of a large group of android soldiers. He’s looking for the one they call Junkyard Joe. He sees himself as the father of that particular android. Tariq may not know. a whole lot about AI or cybernetics or anything like that, but he HAS been a father and he knows...parenthood isn’t ownership. Nevertheless, Joe’s creator is going to go to very great lengths to try to get Joe back. The man in question has captured Tariq. All he wants is his freedom...and his dog.
Johns also puts-in some time between Doctor Molotov and Nate the Nuclear Knight. The conversation between the two of them end up being really interesting. It's covering a lot of crown that would be familiar to anyone who post apocalyptic fiction or tales of a nuclear age. However, Johns planes are way to make some of those themes that seem very fresh and original. It's also a discussion on the very nature of heroism and selflessness. A lot tied up in that conversation that ends up being really good. Beyond that, Geiger comes across with great strength as an action hero. So does his two-headed wolf Barney.
The 24th issue is a very shadowy one. Seems to take place somewhere around a night or in darken rooms. Frank graces the page with lots of heavy ink. And lots of drama in and around the heavy detail around that heavy inking. It all feels remarkably traumatic as it hits the page. The drama feels partly articulated around the edges of everything. Even the largely emotionless face of Junkyard Joe seems remarkably expressive as the action explodes across the page. Anderson’s lighting effects deliver a fully immersive environment to every single scene.
Once the narrative moves beyond some of the silliness of the initial premise, it really feels like a very compelling sort of science fiction fantasy drama. This current series has hung together remarkably well over the course of two years. It will be nice seeing it get a chance to celebrate that a little bit next issue. Geiger has really transcended the cliché of the wasteland warrior to become something distinct and distinctly interesting. He didn't exactly start there. Over the course of the past couple of years, though, he's really turned into something that feels quite unlike anything else that's been on the comic book rack before.
