Uncanny Valley #10 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artist: Dave Wachter

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover Artists: Dave Wachter & Tony Fleecs

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 9, 2025

 

The First told his advisor that he wanted the cartoon world to lead the Human world. He planned to sacrifice Oliver to relieve suffering in both worlds. But as Oliver's sacrifice draws near, the First admits that there is power in suffering.

 

When Margaret and Pecos Peet return to the cartoon world, the daughter and father’s unhappy past separates them. Can they bridge the distance to each other? And can they slip past the army standing between them and the First’s castle? Let's grab our paintbrushes, leap into Uncanny Valley #10, and find out!

 

Story

The First was troubled. People kept disappearing from the cartoon world. In search of answers, he used magic to understand the link between the Human and cartoon world. Then he lured a Human girl to his domain, and she fell in love with Pecos Pete. The First understands the lifegiving power of blood. What he doesn’t understand is that everything dies. In Uncanny Valley #10, the First claims he wants to transform chaos into order. But all he wants to do is call the shots. And instead of letting fate determine when people disappear, the First wants to wield the power of death.

 

Oliver never understood where he belonged. His mother never told him about her past. As they moved every few years, Oliver never understood why he didn’t fit in with the Human kids he met. When the First insists that his purpose is to unite both worlds, part of Oliver wants to believe him. What wouldn’t be better than ending death?

 

Unlike Paul Atreides, the characters in Tony Fleecs’ series didn’t benefit from Bene Gesserit teachings. Pecos Pete didn’t know how to bridge the gap with his daughter. Oliver accepted a risky dare because he feared the boys in his new school wouldn’t accept him. Spriteleigh left her community because she worried about fitting in. Pecos Pete’s dog, Dewy, trusted the First because he believed the sorcerer's prophesies of doom and disaster.

 

Oliver remembers how Spriteleigh’s father asserted that the First’s fears about the demise of the cartoon world were unjustified. The tiny wise man assured Oliver that he embodies the wisdom and power of his ancestors. As he faces death in Uncanny Valley #10, Oliver also remembers what he told Sprightleigh in Pixiedust Forest. The people who don’t fit in are special.

 

Art

Soldiers line a stairway along a precipice to a wooden platform. The First declared that Oliver would die at Dawn's first light. But as he grasps Oliver like Darth Vader and presents him to the dark sky, his world rewards the First with rain. Dewy clamps Oliver to a wheeled wooden table. But instead of torturing Oliver like Count Rugen’s pain machine, poles rise, lifting the boy like Ann Darrow awaiting Kong.

 

While filling the pages of Uncanny Valley #10 with action-packed spectacle, Dave Wachter fills the starry night with pink and purple clouds. The bottom of the First's purple robe lifts, emulating red eyes peering into the cartoon world. Margaret and Pecos Pete mount a cherry red rescue that symbolizes freedom. Along with their hair color and skin tones, the top of Oliver's shirt shares the same green as Margaret's sweater as she storms toward her son.

 

Pat Brosseau fills white dialogue balloons and boxes with uppercase letters that embolden for inflection, swell for volume, and rarely shrink. The First speaks white uppercase letters into cloudy black balloons. Sound effects help us hear Pecos Pete firing his rifle, the First wielding destructive pink fire, and Margaret speeding along like a tornado. Robust and colorful lettering on two fan-pleasing double-page spreads provides Oliver with a crucial insight into his past in Uncanny Valley #10. Thanks to Boom Studios for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Families come in all shapes and sizes. Oliver’s may be small. Still, he has all he needs. Uncanny Valley #10 closes out this Eisner-nominated series by urging us to embrace our heritage, accept change, and forge our paths.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.