Mech Cadets #2 Review

 

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa

Colorist: Ian Herring

Letterer: Simon Bowland

Cover Artists: Takeshi Miyazawa & Ian Herring; Inhyuk Lee; Qistina Khalidah; Rámon K. Pérez

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 13, 2023

 

General Park hurries across the tarmac toward his spaceship. General Felix's outrage rings in his ears. Once again, his daughter has disobeyed a direct order. Is he traveling to assist or arrest her? Let’s fly into Mech Cadets #2 and see what happens!

 

Story

Despite Felix’s orders to observe and report on the missing team, newly instated Captain Maya Sanchez couldn’t stop fellow cadet Olivia Park and her Supra-Robo Hero Force Two from rescuing Francis’ cousin Franklin. Or did Franklin free them from the Sharg? Neither, as it happens.

 

When another wave of the giant crustaceans that captured Franklin’s team arrives, the cadets and their robots fight them off in Mech Cadets #2. But in the process, Maya Sanchez saves Franklin's alien friend. General Felix believes they can't trust Franklin, as the alien helped him escape the Sharg prison barge. If General Felix is correct, she’s compromised too!

 

Is anyone surprised when Maya agrees with Olivia’s plan to rescue Franklin’s team from the Sharg Prison Barge? I think not!

 

Characters discuss what they discover, how that changes their perceptions, and what they'll do next. Conversations reveal the pilots' unity despite their differences, while General Felix remains disapproving and snaps at those assisting her. Greg Pak’s dialogue informs the action without lessening interest or tension in Mech Cadets #2.

 

Mech Cadet Yu Vol. 1 available at Amazon

 

 

Art

Takeshi Miyazawa gives the pilots close-fitting spacesuits and helmets that reveal their expressions. General Felix watches each pilot on individual monitors in the crowded control room. She also follows the action thanks to a midair projection of the tiny robots converse on a hologram gameboard-style surface. Amid the pilots' conference on an asteroid, the chest of Olivia's robot opens cube-by-cube to reveal a previously unknown feature. The way Miyazawa skips scene transitions may confuse readers. But they’ll love the battles and character interactions.

 

Each robot sports a unique design and color. Helmets illumine each pilot’s face the same color as their robot. A yellow glow suffuses the robots’ feet as they fly through mauve-colored space, leaving white direction lines in their paths. Amid the drama and fighting, Ian Herring’s limited palette of pastels makes Mech Cadets #2 fun and inviting.

 

Simon Bowland's black uppercase text with sufficient spacing between rows won’t strain your eyes. Bold words suggest inflection. Colored dialogue balloons tell you which giant pilot is speaking, while Franklin's alien utters symbols, and robot growls and grunts inhabit rectangular balloons. Sound effects help us feel rapid movement and hear laser fire. Offscreen dialogue eases readers from one scene to the next.

 

Final Thoughts

Packed with revelations about the alien race that built the giant robots, the surprising powers of Olivia Park’s Earth-built robot, and reflections on world history, Mech Cadets #2 mixes the search for the truth with fear of the unknown to deliver an action-packed robots-versus-aliens space opera.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

 

Mech Cadets #1 Review

 

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa

Colorist: Ian Herring

Letterer: Simon Bowland

Cover Artists: Takeshi Miyazawa & Ian Herring; Sonny Liew; Junggeun Yoon; Livio Ramondelli; Alan Quah; Aaron Bartling; John Giang

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 9, 2023

 

One year ago, the dreaded Sharg infiltrated and destroyed Sky Corps Academy. Mech Cadet Olivia Park and her team of robot pilots stopped the alien incursion. As they grace a ceremony celebrating the Academy’s reopening, one wonders: Will things go smoothly from now on, or will Earth face more alien threats? Let’s fly into Mech Cadets #1 and see what happens!

 

Story

Like Maverick in Top Gun, Olivia likes to make an impression. Her father points out that her hard, fast landing risked damaging the new concrete. The team learns the leaders aren't just penny-pinching while fixing the nearby dam. All looked rosy at the rebuilt Academy, but damaged businesses and homes

still need attention. Flooding from the leaky dam has only made a bad situation worse.

 

The generals then send the team off-world to find another robot team. Their orders: observe and report, but don't intervene. Earth can't risk losing another

giant robot team!

 

With their resources stretched, the Sky Corps generals regard all aliens as threats. They're also worried about the robots: built by humans but based on alien designs. Like Joshua Joyce, the CEO of the KSI Corporation in Transformers: Age Of Extinction, the generals wonder if they can control their robots. And if not, might the robots subvert their pilots?

 

Art

The surrounding desert and hills suggest Sky Corps Academy resides in the American Southwest. The sentient giant robots show individuality. Each pilot's face appears in a balloon, with a linking arrow to the cadet's robot. Important characters--such as Olivia's father, Cadet Stanford's mother, and even the aliens--impress. Crowd scenes give panels scope. Yet each robot's height--compared with its surroundings--seemed inconsistent. One panel showed a towering robot in the background, with a tiny one in the foreground. Still, the endearing pilots made me root for the team and their mighty mechanical marvels.

 

Mech Cadets #1 features a limited palette of pastels. Background colors in closeups clash with colors in wider shots. Subtle blending breathed life into settings. The white balls beneath the large metal feet—surrounded by white sparkles—leave little doubt about how the robots fly.

 

Black uppercase text with sufficient spacing between rows fills white dialogue balloons. Bold words suggest inflection. Colored dialogue balloons tell you which giant robot pilot is speaking. Sound effects help us feel rapid movement and hear laser fire. Narrative boxes might help transition the reader better from one scene to the next.

 

After twenty-two pages of story in Mech Cadets #1, character sketches, concept art, and creator interviews provide insight into the comics and the Netflix animated series.

 

Final Thoughts

With identifiable characters, giant robots, family dynamics, giant robots, leaders who fear outsiders and the unknown, giant robots, and young adults faced with thorny ethical choices, Mech Cadets #1 propels the reader breathlessly from a troubled Earth to a spectacular space battle. Oh, and did I mention THIS COMIC HAS GIANT FREAKING ROBOTS?

 

8.2/10

 

Enjoy more covers at my review on Comic Book Dispatch.