Written by Matthew Rosenberg
Art by Stefano Landini
Published By Image Comics
Matthew Rosenberg is consistently writing some of the best comic books out there. He has definitely put his time in and the results are showing in everything that he is writing.
Coming up, he will be writing Spawn which is crazy to think about.
Still, it is easy to see why Todd McFarlane chose him to take over the writing reins. Everything he writes is smart and interesting and he has a different way of looking at comics.
I love what he is doing and this series is definitely one of the best series that I have read in the last year. He does a hell of a job writing this book here and I loved every second of it.
This book introduces us to a thirteen year old girl named Annalise at the start of the book.
She is quite an interesting character. Her father is a mad scientist and her life is very different from most people.Then at the beginning of this book, Annalise’s father is killed by the world’s greatest spy. This leaves Annalise all alone in the world with not a lot of places to turn. This is when one of her father’s creations makes itself known to Annalise. That is when the book really takes off and starts to get very interesting.
Annalise’s dead father had a robot bodyguard. This bodyguard starts to follow her around. She just can’t shake him off, no matter what she tries. Then Annalise has an idea that might make a difference in her life. She can choose to go about her life and try to put together all of the pieces once again. That seems like a normal thing to do. Or, she can choose the other path which involves her getting revenge against the spy who murdered her father.
Needless to say, she chooses the latter and that is when the plot kicks into high gear, and never stops for the rest of this crazy book. She also starts to think like her father, and comes to the conclusion that maybe she will overthrow the world as well.
Annalise sticks her neck out and trouble does end up coming her way. As a result of her action, war comes to the island where she lives. In an exciting sequence, we get to see the robot help her get off the island. Of course, it is her home so she has to reckon with losing another big part of her life. There is a lot of drama that happens but also a lot of emotion. Rosenberg excels at both so this book benefits as a result of his writing skill.
Along the way, some crazy moments end up happening. She eventually learns she has to team up with a villain because they’ve also got a grudge against the spy. It leads to some interesting questions about morality and what it means. There are a lot of themes that pop up as a result. But that doesn’t mean that the action is skimped on as a result. There is plenty of that as well as a ton of excitement. This book truly has it all.
Along the way Annalise does get closer to the robot that is helping her out. The two form a bond which is really endearing and even a bit sweet. Annalise is dealing with a lot of trauma and the robot helps her through. There are some really powerful scenes between the two of them. These little character moments really deepen the book and make it something that is a bit of a stand out.
Eventually, Annalise and the robot come face to face with the spy who murdered her mad scientist father. She is faced with a choice of whether or not she should murder him. She is also faced with the choice of whether or not she wants to continue with her plans for world domination. The answer is very much different than what I was expecting.
The story here is pretty simple but pretty great. Rosenberg takes the concept and really spins it around. The artwork by Stefani Landini is top notch as well. Overall, this book is pretty great and I loved the various places it took me.
RATING: A
