I've been reading a whole bunch of great comics recently and I can confidently say that this is one of the best I have ever read! As we all know, perfection is a myth, but this is literally in spitting distance.

I was calling this watercolour Mass Effect when I started because it shares a lot of DNA/ Codex with the sci-fi future with a multi-planet government with a variety of aliens, the Harvesters are big, largely artificial harbingers of apocalypse, much like the reapers, there's an adversarial robot faction, though they seem more like the Underground Railroad than the Geth. You get the picture. I was a disrespectful summer child, this is so much more than Mass Effect in so many ways, and I loved the trilogy (friendly reminder, ACAB includes everyone in those games, but especially your space boyfriend, Garrus. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news). There is also an Aliens/ Promethius element, which is really cool. It's kinda got elements of Brazil and Star Wars too... What I'm saying is, like pretty much every work of Sci-fi in at least theast 100 years, there's a lot of influence and inspiration. The things about good sci-fi is not it looking like or doing something you've seen before, but taking all those elements and exploring human questions and telling exciting stories with new perspectives. Descender absolutely has that in spades!

There's something for everyone:
- Hopeless Doctor
- Grumpy military femme and her rock meat friend (he's human, he just looks like rock meat)
- Adorable and genuinely heart-wrenching robot boy
- Cute and annoying, but in a lovable, not done to death Star Wars kind of way, robot... Dog?
- Big ole prejudiced working class killer robot with a heart of gold
- An empire compromising purely of Tories
- Govermental-Military-Family dynamics and nepotism
- ancient anvanced robot mystery
- genuinely full on gore and action
- Great scripting and storytelling
- possibly the most original, effective and fucking gorgeous art a comic has ever had.

As you can tell I'm absolutely obsessed and will be consuming all of this and the sequel Ascender, as soon as possible! ( )

Perhaps my all time favorite Graphic Novel series, Descender tells the story of Tim-21, a companion robot caught in an intergalactic war that revolves around the hatred of robots, who is desperate to reunite with his human counterpart, Andy. Touching, awe-inspiring, with fascinating worldbuilding, and intriguing story line, and amazing art, Descender is one of the best in the medium.

Disclaimer: I love Jeff Lemire.

Giant robots destroyed a lot of the galaxy and pretty much wiped out humanity so now they are outlawed. TIM-21 has been powered down during the whole robot ban but suddenly comes back online. Not only is TIM-21 confused about the world he woke up to but is also being hunted down by junkers. Great set-up for future issues/volumes and the artwork is gorgeous. ( )

Full disclosure: I am 100% biased towards Jeff Lemire. I find the stories he writes to be fascinating, engaging, and full of heart and humanity. No surprises here. Descender, Vol 1 nails all of those elements and is another excellent series in the Lemire comic cannon.

The setup for this series is great. Ten years ago giant planet-sized robots called Harvesters appeared suddenly and wreaked havoc across the galaxy, killing millions and severing the tenuous diplomatic threads between planets. With anti-robot sentiments at an all-time high, of young android named TIM-21 wakes to find ll robots have been outlawed. But TIM's machine DNA may hold clues to understanding the Harvesters, and he quickly becomes the most wanted robot in the universe. With bounty hunters, feuding factions, and various other dangers around every corner, TIM embarks on an epic quest of adventure and discovery.

This first volume is full of thrilling action scenes, a variety of great characters (I think the lumbering mining droid Driller might be my favorite), and plenty of twists and turns in the plot. And the art by Dustin Nguyen is simply stunning! Vivid colors and beautiful full-painted panels adorn every page, elevating an already good story to the next level.

I've been craving some science fiction, and Descender certainly helped scratch that itch. But it's also just a great story, and I'm very much looking forward to continuing the series in the next volume! ( )

Fantastic series and beautiful artwork. ( )