New-Gen: New Dawn #4 (of 5)
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s): J. D. Matonti & Abdul H. Rashid
Artist: Jomar Bulda
Cover: Abdul H. Rashid & Edgar Arce
This story picks up seven years after the last issue, and we meet up with a Gabriel who is quite acclimated to his new life. Also, with the help of his assistant, he has made great leaps in their nanotech research, though we see that Deadalus has deeper motives for the work. At the same time there’s a discovery that tells of a dark spirit invading New Gen, which is oddly familiar to the encounter Gabriel had years ago.
With things coming together for the endgame, Matonti and Rashid effectively give us the “why” about Deadalus’s motivations. This strengthens the events in the first series, making them seem less abrupt as we see how things began to go downward for him. What’s established here is more heart of the story and how these characters have grown together and are essentially a family. Making the cliff hanger much stronger and deeper than just the classic teacher/apprentice fall out we were shown earlier in the series. With this established the writers not only have made this issue a stronger one, but have also improved on the initial series. There is a question as to why Gabriel didn’t react stronger to the cave painting. The creature is similar to who he faced all those years ago, and since the battle was established so strongly in the previous issue, it just seemed like something one wouldn’t forget as long as they lived.
One thing about New-Gen: New Dawn is that it’s been a good looking series from the first issue. This issue begins with another elaborate cityscape that is quite impressive. There is plenty of detail in the wardrobe, and the design elements of New Gen help to draw you in. It’s when we leave the city that the backgrounds lose some detail and are a bit sparse. This is actually a nice contrast considering where the locations are, though it’s when you compare the characters’ appearances from the beginning to the last few pages of the issue. There is a bit of detail lost, though the emotional aspect that syncs with the narrative helps to make up for that.
Just one more issue left in this series and we’ve seen how far Gabriel has come since his time as a young man in Egypt. As New-Gen: New Dawn wraps it will be exciting to see where we leave off, and more importantly, what will come next!
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