Reviewed by Brady Steele. Imperium #3 shows readers how robots, gene-spliced aliens, hard-nosed soldiers and power-hungry groundbreakers start to work together. Not all of them want to be there. It’s a fascinating display of how to assemble a group of deadly characters and aiming them towards an altruistic end goal.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Drysart
ART BY: Doug Braithwaite
PUBLISHER: Valiant Entertainment
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: 8 April 2015
The cover for issue #3, as striking as it is, is misleading. This Broken Angel doesn’t show up until the very end (Spoiler?) but it looks like the next month will be her turn to take center stage. Instead, we get an overdue peek into mastermind Toyo Harada’s plans, motivations and power levels at his disposal. This would-be benevolent overlord is not be trifled with. Writer Joshua Drysart keeps this absorbing tale growing and building towards a fascinating outcome.
This month, we finally get a glimpse into the killer robot who wants to be called Sunlight on Snow (not Mech Major). This big, intimidating sentient artificial intelligence says all kinds of remarkably engaging things and thinks fascinating thoughts like “…science if more fun than killing.” Therapy sessions, talking to growing alien seeds and glitch memories are just a few insights into this intriguing android. Artist Doug Braithwaite pulls off the arduous task of showing Sunlight on Snow as both intimidating at times and empathic at other times. His aliens look brutal and scary, his wet works agent looks battled ravaged and the battles look grand in scale and intensity.
Harada continues to gather weapons to unleash upon the Valiant Universe. His arsenal gets more and more ominous each chapter. Imperium #3does a great job at thrusting the players into position to really scare the world. I really want to see them change it for the better no matter if people are ready for it or not.
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Mr. Steele enjoys all things comics and imagination-based. Using his lifetime of comic-fu-dom for good, he imparts his knowledge for the universe to enjoy and for you, dear readers, to pass it on.
Twitter: @mrbradysteele