Dustin Nguyen

Descender #11 is a dramatic conclusion to yet another satisfying arc. It’s got gorgeous, complex characters, and plenty of ways to pull out your heartstrings. Recommend for fans of science fiction with heart.

The companion robot Tim-21, his creator Dr. Quon, and the rest of the supporting cast for writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen’s Descender will return on Nov. 11 with issue #7.

The first issue of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender left a lot to be desired. Most jarringly was the similarity it bore to Lemire’s previous Sweet Tooth series, both books feature central characters that are a jaded man fallen from grace and a young naive boy whose very existence is a social taboo in the midst of a quasi-apocalyptic setting. That’s more than enough reason to raise a little concern, but fortunately this latest issue dismisses with them, telling a moving in-the-moment story despite some hang-ups from some of Lemire’s writing tropes.

Jeff Lemire has already proven his worth in the sci-fi comic book genre with last year’s excellent Trillium. Descender appears to be something quite different from the last mini series he produced and is now collaborating with Dustin Nguyen, whose beautiful artwork is already strongly evident in this first issue. With Lemire and Nguyen onboard this very intriguing book, it looks like this will be a great addition to the already stellar lineup of Image released series.