Negation #11
Review by Doc Ezra
Story:
Art:

Written by Tony Bedard
Pencils by Yanick Paquette
Inks by Drew Geraci
Colored by Justin Thyme
Lettered by Troy Peteri

Published by CrossGen
Price: $2.95
My verdict: Snag it.

In this ish, our intrepid band of escaped prisoners scheme to recover the infant Memi from the clutches of the Negation emperor himself, after the child’s abduction by Lawbringer Qztr. In order to gain necessary information about the child’s whereabouts, Evinlea and Iress must offer themselves up as prisoners to General Murquade, while Kaine and the others prepare for an extraction using Drake’s phenomenal sigil-powers.

We also get the introduction of the mysterious Australians, whose presence in the Negation universe is unexplained (though next issue promises to show us a great showdown between a gang of them and the general). The appearance of the Australians throws quite a wrench into Kaine’s plan, but despite the complications, the group now knows Memi’s whereabouts, and Evinlea and Iress successfully made their departure from Murquade’s ship.

For the most part, the issue is given over to character development--Evinlea getting some time as something other than an annoying, self-serving bitch (though just a little time), Drake’s sigil explained (easily one of the cooler concepts of all the sigil-bearers to date), and Kaine’s skill as a leader showing even further how much talent the man has for reading people and judging their character. Most of the action occurs in the last few pages, and spans only a few moments of time in the early stages of the impending brawl with the Australians. By doing this additional development, the crew gives readers a reason to like even the most stand-offish of the escapees, which I suspect will be necessary in the coming issues as their situation gets more and more dangerous.

The book is as beautiful in this issue as it has been to date (though the glowy eye/head thing among high-ranking Negation officials is getting a little bit tired). I do look forward to the return of the regular art staff, though, as I feel their work is superior to that of the guest staff on this issue.

This one’s a must for those following the series, as it sheds some great light on some of the less-developed characters. More casual readers are going to be a bit lost, as this issue starts in the middle of something and ends in the middle of something else, leaving those looking for a nice tidy story package a bit high and dry. As a stand-alone, #11 isn’t a good place to get your first taste of Kaine and company.