Rogue Sun #19: Flipping Out

The consequences of Caleb’s actions while he inhabited Dylan, and as a result Rogue Sun, linger. Dylan and his incorporeal mentor and father, Marcus, are on the case. Rogue Sun #19 very effectively puts forward the question of whether this partnership can truly work.

Dylan and his incorporeal father Marcus are hunting for Alienator, one of many villains freed during the Caleb arc. Rogue Sun #19 is a flipbook that tracks the duo’s search for Alienator and subsequent fight. The two sides of the flipbook detail the issue’s events from each of the main characters’ points of view. Their opinions on how to deal with Alienator differ considerably. And by the end of the issue it’s clear that each of them are keeping a key secret from the other.

Playing with style conventions and overall issue construction isn’t new for Rogue Sun. The series has repeatedly made unconventional choices. Rogue Sun #19’s choice to retell the same story from two points of view is one of the least extreme. The same scenes are recounted to the point that panels, side effects and dialogue are all reused. The key differences are Dylan and Marcus’ internal monologues that run through the issue. A major example of that comes early in the issue where Marcus provides extensive backstory on the villain Alienator. In Dylan’s point of view sequence, the captions of his internal monologue appear on top of Marcus’ dialogue, obscuring it from the reader and reflecting how Dylan isn’t paying attention to what Marcus is saying. In Marcus’ point of view, all of the dialogue is visible for the reader.

The real meat of telling the story twice in this way comes in how the two characters interpret Dylan’s actions during his fight with Alienator. Dylan wants to have fun with quips; Marcus wants him to shut up and fight. Dylan eventually develops a plan; Marcus thinks he’s sloppy. Most importantly, Dylan is willing to be merciful to Alienator; Marcus wants Dylan to kill Alienator. Telling this same story in two ways develops the characters both singly and in relation to each other quickly and perhaps more effectively than multiple issues could.

Rogue Sun #19 is an action heavy issue which plays heavily into the fact that the second time the story is told it doesn’t feel repetitive. The fight between Rogue Sun and Alienator is primarily hand to hand which is much more visceral than repeated energy blasts of some kind. And Marcus repeatedly appears to stand in the middle of the fight even though he is invisible to both combatants.

Color is always vibrant in Rogue Sun and this issue is no exception. The red/orange/yellow energy that flows around and through Rogue Sun always grabs the eye. As the fight continues, Alienator develops a green outline and highlight to signify Mourningstar’s control over him. Coloring is always a significant enhancement to this series.

Caption boxes and dialogue bubbles are well organized in the issue which in Rogue Sun #19 is key. Caption boxes overlap dialogue bubbles, in whole or in part, in ways that contribute to the characters’ interaction. In several places boxes and bubbles are placed as though they are a conversation when in reality it’s one character’s thoughts in response to another character’s dialogue. It’s quite effective.

The cover design is outstanding. It’s almost a medieval design that calls to mind an old family crest. It uses a portrait of both Dylan and Marcus, joined with one upright and one inverted. The smart choice is that on the Dylan side of the issue, Dylan is the upright character. This is reversed on Marcus’ side of the issue where he is upright rather than his son.