Uncanny Valley #9 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artist: Dave Wachter

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover Artists: Dave Wachter & Tony Fleecs

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 7, 2025

 

Dewy told Oliver that he belonged on the farm. Unlike his grandfather’s dog, Oliver has never felt like he belonged anywhere. So when the crows that found him in the human world swoop in and start carrying away the farm animals, Oliver flees into Pixiedust Forest. Can Spriteleigh and her father help Oliver return to his family?

 

Oliver’s grandfather and mother cannot find more portals to the cartoon world. Nor can they create any. As they drive through the human world, wondering how to reunite with Oliver, Pecos Peet tries to close the distance to his daughter. But Peggy, who has changed her name to Margaret, pushes him away. Can Pecos Pete and Margaret reach the cartoon world before the First sacrifices Oliver? And is the First correct? Are both worlds in danger? Let's grab our pencils and paintbrushes, leap into Uncanny Valley #9, and find out!

 

Story

Margaret often changed jobs and hometowns while singlehandedly raising Oliver. Oliver accepted a dare from the boys at his new school to make friends. But after he leapt off the footbridge, Oliver pulled himself out of an imprint in the ground. The other boys went to the hospital. Margaret has survived her fall from a much higher bridge in Uncanny Valley #9. The leap of faith has allowed her to pick up a paintbrush and paint a portal to the cartoon world.

 

In Pixiedust Forest, Oliver wanted to use the sprite crystal to return to his mother. But when the Ogres attacked, he sacrificed himself to save Spriteleigh and her father. Oliver wonders at his options as he sits in a cell. Despite all his attempts to avoid capture, Oliver is the First’s prisoner in Tony Fleecs' story. The First tells Oliver that he has a role to play. Dewy counsels Oliver to trust the First. Despite the First's plan to emulate Abraham and Isaac at Moriah, Dewy believes that Oliver will survive the First's act of Human sacrifice.

 

Oliver’s grandfather followed the First’s bidding when he traveled to the Human world to retrieve Oliver. But unlike his dog, Pecos Pete has lost faith in the First. He has seen how much the First has changed from a carefree pilot in "Steamboat Willie" to crafting magic in "Fantasia." Like Saruman, the First's years of study in his tower have transformed the happy mouse into a remote figure who commands a ghoul army.

 

The First claims that sacrificing Oliver, a child born of both worlds, will help the cartoon world lead the human world to embrace a healthier approach to life. Yet the First also admits there is power in hurting others in Uncanny Valley #9. While Pecos Peet and Margaret wonder how to find a way past the First's army, the cartoon farmer looks back on his life and realizes that he has made all the wrong decisions.

 

Art

As white replaces brown, a bird's eye view shows the bridge spanning a river. But unlike the browns and grays that dominate Margaret's world, the paintbrush dripping white primer has conjured a portal of vivid blue and magenta. Amid the curves of the cartoon land and sky, a dark castle rises in Uncanny Valley #9. The sharp, straight lines outside echo the iron bars before Oliver. Little is straight in the cartoon world. A purple patch on the gray floor that defies iron shadows evokes the glowing blue crystal the sprites helped him find.

 

Like Oliver, Margaret stands out as she surveys the castle amid stone ruins. Dave Wachter's more nuanced colors link her skepticism and misery with Oliver's. By comparison, Pecos Peet's bright coloring, particularly his blue overalls, links him with his dog Dewy. Both once embraced the First's design. Pecos Peet's rapid movements and deforming shapes demonstrate how cartoon characters shake off pain and eradicate injury. In a world where the First can paint away someone with his brush, and the creator can make someone disappear with his pencil eraser, does Oliver's human-world coloring suggest his susceptibility or immunity to death?

 

Pat Brosseau fills white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase letters that embolden for inflection and swell for volume. The first speaks white uppercase letters into cloudy black balloons and boxes. Traditional arrows turn serpentine when emotions rise. Sound effects help us hear characters travel through portals and embrace the No Pain No Gain motto, while music notes bring hope for a better tomorrow in Uncanny Valley #9.

 

Final Thoughts

Whether our actions are predestined or arise from free will, our words and actions affect others. As the First hurts and kills others for the greater good, Uncanny Valley #9 urges us to confront our fears, lest we lose our uniqueness and become captives to power or blind faith.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.