Rogue Sun #25: Perfect For New And Old Readers Alike

Rogue Sun is and has always been as much about Dylan’s growth as a teenager entering adulthood as it has been about superheroes and supervillains. The character has been on a long, slow burn character arc. Eventually it must force important decisions that will affect his entire life. Whether or not Dylan’s character development will be paid off effectively is a question that looms over the new storyline beginning in Rogue Sun #25.

Discovering that his father didn’t actually want him to be Rogue Sun does nothing good for Dylan’s mood in Rogue Sun #25. Dylan is already chafing under Marcus’s critique of his performance after he let his friend Gavin escape from a robbery. This new revelation clouds Dylan’s emotions throughout the day, eventually distracting him during a fight with Mourningstar’s latest villainous recruit (Dylan later calls him Burningman). Fortunately (or not), Dylan is aided by a second Rogue Sun–none other than his sister Aurie.

Dylan comes across as a character at a crossroads in Rogue Sun #25 even before the question of whether he will take an inherited trust fund instead of remaining Rogue Sun ever comes up. For 24 issues, Dylan’s experiences as Rogue Sun have been inextricably linked, in one way or another, to his relationship with his parents and friends. Parrott and Cotton have constructed many of his hero/villain encounters to reflect whatever emotional turmoil Dylan is experiencing at the time. Marcus’s chastising of Dylan for letting Gavin go is only the latest instance of Marcus and Dylan disagreeing on how to be Rogue Sun. Replace Rogue Sun with a disagreement over which college to attend or which career path to take, and suddenly this is a situation that almost everyone over eighteen can relate to.

The return of a standard Mourningstar created villain is a welcome occurrence after the more complicated encounters of the previous three issues. It also allows for a relatively easy fight sequence during which Aurie can be easily introduced as a second Rogue Sun.

Parrott and Cotton only scratch the surface of Caleb and Aurie’s relationship in developing her as a second Rogue Sun. Caleb is an established antagonist for Dylan. Aurie is essentially an ally, though there are moments of competitiveness between her and Dylan. Even though Aurie is not a new character, her transition into a second Rogue Sun in Rogue Sun #25 is more intriguing than the introduction of any villain the series has yet produced. Her relationship with Dylan creates emotional stakes that haven’t existed in the series to this point. Neither the introduction of a new villain or the surprising development in the issue’s final pages generates the same level of curiosity that Aurie does.

Coloring is a key part of Rogue Sun. It has been since the series began. The title character stands out on every page he’s on. When flying, his black suit trailing fire is like a meteor streaking through the sky. In fights, he is a flaming knight. Most importantly, Marques never uses the color scheme for Rogue Sun’s fire for anything else. Even against orange or yellow backgrounds, Rogue Sun’s flames always stand out and the character pops off the page because of it. The second Rogue Sun gets the same treatment from Marques. The armor’s coloring is slightly different–a dark and very dull purple. But the flames are identical. It’s an effective visual indicator that these two variations are effectively the same, and it undercuts Dylan’s specialness.

Marques uses a very bright green color for the Burningman’s gaseous powers. It contrasts heavily with Rogue Sun’s color scheme. This is often the case for the series. Regardless of how specific (or not) the script might be with regard to color scheme, Marques always pushes the contrast as high as possible. The result is that Rogue Sun remains the major focal point through action sequences.

Burningman’s design is a creative blend of a typical thin and muscular comic character with an industrial worker. The gas mask that spews toxic gas is a fun touch or reverse logic, and it emphasizes the danger of simply being in the character’s proximity. Though shirtless for no apparent reason, Burningman’s bulky pants, knee pads, and heavy boots reinforce the character’s motivation as a low level worker that wants to kill the rich board members of a company that doesn’t care about its employees who are made sick by the products they produce.

Dylan spends almost the entirety of Rogue Sun #25 with a sullen expression owing to the discussion about his trust fund. It matches his dialogue perfectly and is easy to imagine still being his expression beneath his mask/helmet. Abel clearly knows Dylan well; it’s rare that Dylan’s expression and body doesn’t perfectly match his dialogue (assuming it’s happened at all).

Rogue Sun #25 is text heavy, especially during the three page sequence regarding Dylan’s trust fund and the Sun Stone. Carey does an exceptional job organizing dialogue bubbles, keeping conversations flowing easily without interrupting the art. There’s no question at all about how the reader’s eyes should track across and down the page as they read the dialogue. It makes for fast reading conversations.