Adorable Robots in Descender || GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW

Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire

3.5/5 STARS

Genre: Sci-Fi, Graphic Novel
Author: Lemire, Nguyen & Wands
Published: March 2015
Publisher: Image Comics
Pages: 160 {paperback}

Review on Goodreads

this review is spoiler-free

Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing

This was such a crazy story and really interesting. I thought the pacing was a little too fast even for a GN but I loved the story and I really enjoyed both the artwork and the robotic characters. I’m super intrigued to see where that cliff hanger is going to take us in the next volume!

Descender

Before finding this graphic novel in the bookstore I’d never heard of it and had no idea what it was about. After a quick glance at the blurb and the mention of sentient robots with the world against them in an AI infested world (infested? Let’s just roll with it) I was 100% sold.

The novel absolutely lives up to all its promises. We follow a young, AI boy who was built for the purpose of keeping company a real human young boy who was on a different planet to earth thanks to his parents space-esque work and therefore lacking in age appropriate companions. WHAT A NIFTY IDEA.

Except that’s the backstory. The current story is that the world was catastrophically attacked by some really quite sizeable robots and now everyone thinks robots are THE WORST. So they “scrap” them. Not such good news for little robot boy who is innocent, sweet and relatively naïve of the whole situation. Oh, and he’s been offline for a few years so when he suddenly switches back on a whole bunch of peeps are like WHOA, we want that. WELCOME TO THE PLOT.

Robots + Wars

I honest to goodness loved this plot. If you’re already flagging me down, whilst munching on that delectable looking macaroon I see you holding, as to why I’ve only rated it (“only”, she says) a 3.5/5, it’s all to do with the ending. Or moreover, the really big and spanning plot of the graphic novel that has very few resolutions.

My number one pet peeve with stories is when 0.5% of the plot is resolved in book one and the rest is left for the sequels. Like, excuse moi? NON. Theees ees not okay! Because I want some smaller plots resolved along the way. But it wasn’t that bad, truth be told, I just wanted more. Mayhap I should buy the sequel — what a novel idea.

The characters were awesome and really inventive. I loved the idea of the AI boy being made for the purpose of keeping a real young boy company whilst on a different planet. Like heck yeah, this is totally something humans would invent! BELIEVABLE STAMP OF APPROVAL.

But the added complexion of the wimpy scientist character who invented the boy and was brought on board a mission to retrieve the bot was good too. It was another exciting element to the story. We feel like there’s something amiss with this character and the father complex little AI boy for him is both disturbing and sweet. I don’t know, I just really like this story alright. Complicated yet easy.

Artwork

Beautiful. I loved it. Much yes. Many recommendations.

It’s different to what to find in Saga in that it’s a more sketchy style (there’s probably an official term for that but I have no idea what I’m talking about because how do you even review graphic novels????) But yes, sketchy-ness is an A+ in my neck of the woods. Makes me feel like I’m really looking at some artwork some clever-clogs has managed to draw up. *claps*

Summary

I highly recommend this graphic novel. I’m so, so, so keen to see where the story goes from here and have high hopes that I’m going to love it. I desperately want Netflix to find this and make a mini TV series out of it, also. Just saying.