Writer: Rick Remender
Artist & Colorist: Daniel Acuña
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña, Michael WM Kaluta, Steve Epting & Tradd Moore
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 20, 2025
War is hell. At least, that's how Lieutenant Flynn sees it. All the narrow escapes and the people he has killed weigh on his soul. As they approach the target for his crew’s twenty-eighth mission together, the copilot wonders how much longer he can continue. But Captain Milton feels only disdain for the enemy. The Narenians started this war. He’s going to end it. Will the crew of Ol' Sockeye fulfill their mission? And what will victory or failure cost them? Let’s put on our flight jackets, leap into Escape #1, and see!
Story
Captain Milton has a routine. During each mission, Milton reminds himself of the enemy's cruelties and how bombing the Narenian targets avenges their victims. He paints the enemy with a thick brush, and the bristles cover everyone in their armed forces. But as the bombing crew embarks on their latest mission, Lieutenant Flynn gripes about Milton's mantra. He points out that the Narenian leadership is responsible for the deaths and atrocities. Draftees lack the luxury of selectively obeying orders.
In Escape #1, Flynn's boldness prompts a discussion. The crew knows that with every bomb they drop, people die. Of the soldiers, most are just patriots supporting their country’s leadership. Magoo, who occupies the greenhouse-style gun turret, reminds them that conditions are dire back home. Then, ground-to-air missiles curtail the discussion. Milton and his crew must set aside their moral musings and focus on achieving their objective.
While Escape #1 starts with a discussion, Rick Remender's story quickly escalates. But as the characters fight for their lives, the ethical considerations hang in the air. For Milton, the lines are clear. The Narenians’ atrocities make success imperative at any cost. Milton's crew knows they are bucking the odds by succeeding and surviving so many missions. Still, it’s important to them how they win the war.
Art
While Flynn pilots their craft, Milton applies a red pen to black and white photos in a glossy magazine. His markings emphasize the Narenians’ ears and eyes. Regardless of species, Milton gives them all incisors and slanted eyebrows. Flynn's dispassionate expression, long snout, upturned ears, and peaked hat link him with the Narenian bats. With the pipe clenched in his canines, Milton's ursine features are more expressive than his cigarette-smoking colleague's. But as Milton studies the photos of a cheering assembly, Daniel Acuña suggests how reverence for the flag amplifies patriotism.
Touches of yellow, orange, red, and blue enliven the gray military aircraft. Yellow, red, and blue nose art adorns the bomber, as does the fanciful name. Beige, gray, and orange form blotchy patterns in the blue sky like paint in a water tank. Then red splashes the sky and the bomber's interior in Escape #1. Blue and purple adorn Milton's face as he faces decisions that will define his future.
Rus Wooton fills ivory dialogue balloons with narrow black uppercase letters. Words in closely spaced rows grow bold for intonation, enlarge for increased volume, and rarely shrink. Larger colored letters herald gunfire, shearing metal, and explosions, while gray words written on bombs clarify the crew’s feelings about their enemies. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
When people attack you, it's easy to respond in kind. But in war, the choices become less clear, especially when your actions could prevent the death of millions. Escape #1 tackles the cost war takes on our souls, and how fighting for the people and causes we care about can turn us into the people we despise.
Rating 9.6/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
