Invisible Republic #3

Writer – Gabriel Hardman, Corinna Beckho
Artist – Gabriel Hardman
Colours – Jordan Boyd

Croger Babb has been left hanging, literally, with his only option being to give up the journals and live or to die with them. Either way, he will give them up and there is nothing he can do about it. Or is there? Meanwhile as the book flashes back to the trials of Arthur and Maia, it finds them on the run from the law and Arthur being none too happy about it and none too happy with Maia for essentially betraying his trust. Invisible Republic keeps rocketing forward courtesy of Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Beckho and it does so with a pace that never lets up, and continues to be one of the brightest new jewels to join the science-fiction genre. Everyone is on the run, both past and present and it is incredibly exciting, not to mention extremely compelling. The transitions between each tale are good and there are no breaks in the narrative when it does so ensuring a smooth read and as you are doing so the story tends to give off a Blade Runner feel, minus the robots of course. While it was quite evident before, you can see how Arthur is going to be the man will lead a future dictatorship as he has no compunctions about doing what he has to do to survive. Maia for her part has finally seen who Arthur really is and this too, if nothing else, will start her on the road to opposing her cousin throughout his reign. Though the part of the book that starred Maia and Arthur has been the most interesting part by far, the present tale with Croger Babb has caught up with the rest of book and has become quite riveting in its own right. If you are looking for a great new science-fiction book with political overtones, than Invisible Republic is the book for you.

4 out of 5

Infinity Gauntlet #1

Writer – Dustin Weaver, Gerry Duggan
Artist – Dustin Weaver

One of the more interesting titles to come out during the Secret Wars event thus far is Infinity Gauntlet because it is not at all what you would expect. As of yet, it literally has nothing to do with said object and yet you can see where it is starting to lead in this first issue. We are introduced to a family who are trying to survive in a New York that is a wasteland, having been totalled by a horde of what the residents call bugs. At this point in time it is really unknown what these bugs might actually be but one can assume that it could very well be the Annihilation Wave. What is known is that the Nova Corps failed to stop them and now they are here on Earth. Dustin Weaver and Gerry Duggan create a very different tale and it hooks you right from the start. The book does have this name for a reason though and it looks like the Infinity Gems have somehow been scattered with one of the main characters finding one and the Mad Titan, Thanos, finding one as well. There are a lot of unanswered questions that arise by the end of this book, everything from where in the world are all the heroes in this domain to wondering why Doom did not put a stop to the madness that is going on here long ago? The family are a fun bunch though why they are the stars of the book and not Thanos who merely does a little lurking about is a big question too. It seems that tuning in to the next issue will be a must if you want anything answered and it is an easy decision to make as the book is written so good and is really well-drawn. Unassuming maybe, but definitely captivating.

4 out of 5