Image Comics reviews 3/7/24 – Void Rivals #7
Void Rivals #7 delivers another stellar installment of one of comic’s freshest, most original reads in years.
It’s easy to get caught up in the Transformers and G.I. Joe sector of the Energon Universe and forget Void Rivals. That’s a mistake as writer Robert Kirkman and artist Lorenze De Felici’s galaxy spanning tale is just as essential reading as its counterparts.
Darak and Solila are stranded in a planet in the middle of nowhere. As usual, they have very little resources besides Darak’s glove guide…and each other. Despite the challenges of their alliance, Darak still seems more willing to trust his former rival. Solila appears more guarded and less open to the idea of anything beyond a temporary partnership.
Regardless, they’ll need to work it out quickly as a new player enters the fray.
Zalilak is terrified of the truth about the two warring factions coming out and dispatches Proximus to retrieve or take them out. Kirkman pulls off a clever intro to Proximus that De Felici pays off beautifully with a terrifying sequence.
Without making a big fuss and hyping it up relentlessly, Void Rivals successfully introduces its own version of Boba Fett. Maybe that sounds like an easy thing to do, but to do it in such an organic manner while conveying this is a legit player in Void Rivals is seriously challenging. The creative team deserves to take a lengthy bow for pulling it off.
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De Felici’s art plays out so elegantly sequential that it’s easy to read the issue like watching an animated movie. It’s easy to fill in the “animated gaps” with the smooth transitions from one panel to the next. Colorist Patricio Delpeche works in stark oranges, reds, blues and purples to complement the art.
Like all the Energon titles so far, the issue flies by and ends as things are heating up. The beauty with Void Rivals #7 is it never feels like Kirkman is artificially inflating the story just to drag it out. This slower pace allowing for greater character development and interplay is such a key component of the story.
The Transformers tie-ins were fun, but it’s arguably more satisfying to see the title just play out without the need for a TF cameo to maintain interest. This title doesn’t need any help from the big brother robot brand. There’s plenty of story and intriguing developments to more than keep readers coming back for the next installment.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Photo Credit: Image Comics