Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3 Review

 

Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3 Review

Writer & Artist: Matt Lesniewski

Letterer: Ferran Delgado

Cover Artists: Matt Lesniewski & Emil Ernst

Designer: Carey Soucy

Editor: Karl Bollers

Publisher: Oni Press

Issue Description: 24 Pages, Black and White

Price: $4.99 US

Release Date: September 16, 2026

 

Faceless hasn't seen his family in a decade. For a time, he belonged to a different type of family. Now, he works with his friends Hal, Carp, and Jerry. But when the scavengers pry a strange type of machinery from a cliff, it bonds with Faceless and refuses to let go.

 

When he meets Faceless, Kitari recognizes a kindred spirit. He helps Faceless adapt to his new mech suit. Ironically, they meet after Kitari has resolved to remove his suit to help his family. After they part, Kitari learns that following the surgery, he'll need a replacement suit, but none are currently available.

 

Will Kitari undergo the risky surgery to please his family? And will the cloaked thieves who have already stolen components from Kitari also steal Faceless' new suit? Let’s leap into Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3 and see!

 

Story

The Doctor tells Faceless he can't remove his suit without a special tool. But after Faceless decides to go it alone to protect his friends from further trouble, a cloaked thief attempts to abduct it. Kitari may waver over removing his suit. But when he sees a thief forcibly removing his friend's suit, Kitari intervenes. Then Sasha, another new friend in a mechanical suit, arrives. Fearing for his life, she tries to stop Kitari from interfering in Faceless’ battle with a criminal. Amid the fight, the thief removes Faceless’ suit, and Sasha gets injured. Then Faceless' friends arrive and chase the thief away.

 

In Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3, Kitari is torn between his obligation to his family and his affection for Sasha. Faceless' friends must decide whether to live in fear of the criminals that keep attacking them, or do something about it. Like the suit-thief, the Hunter Fleet that attacked them earlier may have disappeared. Regardless, they can strike a blow for society by investigating the thief who earlier stole some of Jerry’s belongings.

 

Matt Lesniewski's story occurs in a post-mechanized world. Some people, like the Hunter Fleet, still rely on mechanical suits. Others, like Kitari's family, have them removed when they can. Cities such as Thumbland have begun to ostracize people like Kitari who retain their mechanical suits. Kitari had decided to remove his suit to save his father's life. Then he met Sasha, a girl who thought Kitari was perfect the way he was. Now, like Kitari's, Sasha's mech suit is ailing. While Faceless' adoptive family acts to protect him, Kitari must decide where his obligations lie in Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3.

 

Art

When Sasha falls, Kitari rushes to her side. Like Sasha, only Kitari’s face emerges from his decaying mech suit. Yet while his features reveal his shock, a cone-shaped helmet shields Faceless’ reaction. He clutches the thief’s removal tool. The suit, still attached to the tool, has formed a cube. As the thief departs, his cloak rising in a silent farewell, Faceless' friends arrive. The quartet displays no mechanical components. They carry their belongings with them on their travels. Yet like Faceless, Carp travels light.

 

Matt Lesniewski portrays Kitari and Faceless’ world with black-and-white art in Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3. Hatching portrays shadows, while foreground characters and interiors boast darker, more closely set lines. Thick outlines distinguish the principal characters. The others are more lightly drawn. When Faceless' friends arrive to help, Jerry doesn't know that Sasha once bound Kitari’s injured leg. Yet the big, muscular man grabs a roll from his belongings to tape her damaged limb.

 

Like the bubbly nature of Carp's long hair and the dust that arises from the arid ground, black uppercase letters fill white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for intonation and shrink for lowered voices. Enlarged letters in a spiky balloon confirm Faceless’ fears. Ferran Delgado's sound effects move in tune with the characters. They often adopt a 3D appearance as they portray the characters' struggles to protect themselves, their friends, and their world. Thanks to Oni Press and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Civilization on the Hand Planet is under siege. The populace and the authorities fear combating the criminals. So, people take out their frustrations on the minority who still cling to their mechanized past in Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3.

 

Rating 9.4/10

For more covers see Faceless and the Family: Maze of the Mechanical Aliens #3 Cover Preview.