Rai #8: Ghost In the Machine

Abnett and company have delivered hit after hit in this series and the 10th issue is no exception. Between Spylocke discovering that somewhere deep, down inside of the Red King aka Bloodfather. The tension between the pair as they plot against Bloodfather is palpable. As you read it you’ll be at the edge of your seat wondering what will happen to them, is Bloodshot who he says he is? Will the Red King catch them? So many questions that teeter on so much drama.

The trio of Rai, Alice and Raijin provides the perfect balance of humor and exploration of character. Alice being so blunt is hilarious yet a refreshing perspective brought to humanize a flat out wild story. It exemplifies one of the best things about the Rai title, it’s a tale sown deep into a bizarre future world that when you think about it all, the mutant animal men, the Positronic Android people, the cyborg samurai heroes etc it’s pretty ridiculous but somehow so grounded and down to Earth you can’t help but fall into the world yourself. It actually feels genuine despite being so incredible in scope.

Juan Jose Ryp pencils and inks along with perfect colors from Andrew Dalhouse deliver beautiful art in spades that draws the reader into the pages in a way few comics can land. The fact they can blend so many genres together and not drop the ball on a single one shows just how fantastic the art team from Ryp to the lettering work by veteran artist Dave Sharpe, all of it is just spectacular. All of it drives one of the best journey tales in comics along that you’d be extremely hard pressed to name something else that could really be called a peer to it on the shelves now or even in recent history.