Black Science has carved out a name for itself in the comics community through its remarkable story-telling, mixing sublimely exciting action sequences with fascinating, complex character work. The world crafted here by writer Rick Remender and artist Matteo Scalera is filled with colorful creatures and loads of explosive battles, but just as prominent is the cast of colorful and explosive characters. The latest issue, #9, offers more good stuff despite being a noticeably weaker entry, with characterization and action that are solid but feel shallow in comparison to past efforts.

Creeping in the background of this series has always been the notion of alternate universes, filled with altered versions of the same people. An eerie, revealing dream sequence at the start of this comic explores this concept to chilling effect. It’s a very well-done bit of storytelling, giving readers reason to care more about one of the more tertiary characters. Unfortunately, this manages to only come off as just a taste whenever Black Science‘s regular, in-depth version of exploring characters is considered. Characterization is cut short for action that is fine but ultimately comes off as little more than filler.

The latter half or so of the comic focuses on something totally different, offering an action sequence carried by narration that feels at home in this series. It all leads into a big reveal that is sure to lead to incredibly compelling and interesting plot threads in the future. The visuals are done especially well in this section, with zippy action and exaggerated facial expression put to great use to create a frantic atmosphere. This part of the comic is ultimately hurt, however, by the fact that a lot of details are left in the dark, leading to some confusion. The narration is satisfying and it plays into past thematic beats, but it can only go so far because readers are only cued into so much.

Black Science always manages to entertain, even though occasionally it hits a relative low point. This is one of those points, but what’s important to understand is that a bad issue of Black Science is still a very good comic.

Story: Rick Remender Art: Matteo Scalera
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

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Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review