The last issue of this comic knocked me down several times over. The creators were on the to of their game in every way; Markisan Naso‘s emotional story and character interactions gut punched me into next Thursday, only for Jason Muhr‘s art and layouts to bounce me through to the following Tuesday. Andrei Tabacaru‘s coloring work was the cherry on top of an emotional thunder punch of a story that had me reeling for days afterwards. 

Voracious: Feeding Time #3 has a very real chance of remaining my favorite single issue of the year.

It therefore seems somewhat unfair to compare this issue to the last because the emotional roller coaster of issue three isn’t as immediately evident in the fourth issue, but before you start to think that makes Feeding Time #4 a lesser issue, stop. The fourth issue will still give you things to think about, albeit with a level of subtlety that requires you to give the issue some time to digest in your brain (unless you’re able to pick up on these things faster than I was).

With the fourth issue of the miniseries, Naso gives you a moment to catch your breath with a sequence that, despite the very science fiction setting and ominous overtones, evokes the same sense of innocence that Nate and Starlee’s banter does in earlier issues. Although there’s a much heavier taste of futuristic science fiction present in this issue the comic retains the distinctlyVoracious feel with it’s characterization and humanity. At first the conversations that the saurian scientists have in this issue and the earlier interactions between Nate and Starlee have very little in common with each other, but once you remove the context of each conversation the tone remains very familiar allowing the reader to gain a level of familiarity with these otherwise alien-to-us-beings on an instinctual level. 

Little touches like this are a prime reason as to why I am such a huge fan of the series; there are some brilliant moments in each issue that jump out at you the first time you read the comic, that you can sometimes miss the more subtle, but equally brilliant, moments littered throughout each comic. The fourth issue of Feeding Time was weighted toward the more subtler side of the coin, and although it did take me a second read to pick up, the comic is so much more if you give it time to percolate in your mind.

Jason Muhr and Andrei Tabacaru continue to deliver a visual treat with each issue, easily justifying the price of admission alone. Muhr is able to convey those unspoken words between characters, effortlessly moving the story along in the absence of words that showcases the synchronicity between the series creators as they continue to publish one of the most exciting books of the year.

I fucking love this book, and if you give it a chance then you will too.

Story: Markisan Naso Art: Jason Muhr Colours: Andrei Tabacaru
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Action Lab Entertainment provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.