Wayward #21
Publisher: Image
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Steve Cummings
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Cover: Steve Cummings & Tamra Bonvillain
Wayward is back and hasn’t lost a step as the creative team kicks off a brand new story arc. Now, if you have yet to indulge in the goodness of this series and take the plunge with this issue, the info on the inside cover will get you caught up before the new arc begins. Though this doesn’t make the issue a perfect jumping on point it does get you comfortable enough to begin this next chapter of their journey.
This issue focuses on Nikaido who is currently in the worst possible place for him to be which is a hospital. Due to the fact his powers are fueled by emotion he’s steadily being bombarded with stress and becoming a ticking time bomb. This plays out well with Zub’s expert pacing of the issue as he goes back and forth building the necessary tension while maintaining the strength of the smaller story parts. Zub builds on each character and makes the drama something worth getting into whether it’s just a casual conversation or an entire hospital wing being blown apart. His storytelling continues to excell as he’s built some strong interpersonal relationships between these characters that take me back to the synergy of good old school 80s/90s team books. The only area of the book that fell flat for me involved the Minister of Defense. The humor was very hit or miss and didn’t come off as necessary but that’s just my take.
Your eyes get to see more great work from Cummings and Bonvillain as they continue to visually impress in this story. They weave visuals that are strong enough not to even need Zub’s dialogue some of the time. The character design for Inaba is totally enhanced by Bonvillain’s colors which show off her flair and just reinforce Nikaido’s unique character and attitude. And not to spoil anything but that last page is just creepy and twisted for all of the right reasons because of how good the art is. Letterer Marshall Dillon helps to give weight to the scenes where Nikaido is being flooded with emotion and definitely kicks the explosion sequence up a notch.
Another thing that makes Wayward a great series is the back matter supplied by Zack Davisson. Each entry expands on a certain aspect of the issue as he schools us on Japanese culture. Thus adding another layer of awesome to the storytelling.
It’s great to have Wayward back and it’s a series that is delivering everything comic readers have been asking for.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
