Ascender #15: The Big Reveal

It is flashback time. Ascender #15 fills us in on what happened to Tim-21 and Bandit at the end of Descender. Don’t remember Tim-21? He was the robot boy at the core of the Descender storyline but hasn’t been seen much in Ascender. Tim has a robot dog named Bandit. When Tim disappeared at the end of Descender so did most of the technology in the galaxy which launches us into Ascender. It is 10 years later in a galaxy where magic replaced technology.

In Ascender #12, we learned that Mother and her sister are also looking for Tim. They believe he is the answer to where the source of all magic can be found. And they are right. After a decade of learning all the Machines will tell him, Tim steals one of the giant Descender bots and sets out to learn the true origins of his galaxy. The Machines are not telling him everything, and Tim-21 is determined to find out why.

It is a bridging, fill-in issue, and it’s short. It does what is needed to fill in the missing piece of the storyline puzzle without revealing everything just yet. Our heroes have reunited. Our villains are preparing to take all the magic for themselves. Can Tim-21 and his family stop them and save the galaxy?

The artwork by Dustin Nguyen is fabulous with thin lines and watercolor style effects. The panels are ethereal and wonderful. Each character is unique and easily identifiable. The world-building design is carried through all elements from new technology, to old technology and to magic.

Fans of 1980s classics like Voltron will enjoy this sci-fi epic by Jeff Lemire. Ascender combines technology and magic seamlessly. It shouldn’t work but it does. The characters are compelling and the storyline strong. With Ascender there is a touch of nostalgia and Where’s Waldo whenever a character from Descender appears. Ascender is more than a sequel. As the story progresses, we are seeing that Ascender and Descender are interwoven and building on each other.