General Park–head of Sky Corps Academy–must assemble a team of heroes to protect humankind from alien invasions, and Stanford Yu, Maya Sanchez, Frank Olivetti, and Park’s own daughter Olivia may have been pulled into the role by fate… as they are Earth’s best hope. Mech Cadets #1 is the kick-off follow up to Mech Cadet Yu, the fantastic debut series.

Written by Greg Pak, Mech Cadets #1 picks up not long after the initial series. The team of cadets are riding high from their victory but their lack of following orders has created a situation where they’re on a short leash. Their celebration is short, as they have to deal with emergencies that piss off their leaders even more. It’s a solid start to the series, catching up new readers and continuing the excellent path from the previous volume.

Pak sets things up nicely and you know where it’ll go. With an emphasis on the team ignoring orders, you know that will come back in a negative way with some disaster happening due to it. But, it also creates a fun brashness about it all where these mecha pilots come off as hot shots instead of stiff soldiers. It pits youth against adults and the result is entertainment.

There’s absolutely a difference in philosophy here and Pak emphasizes that in the initial mission that has the team dealing with flooding and looting. That bit is a bit choppy and some of it doesn’t make complete sense but overall it moves the narrative along well and plants the flag in a lot of ways.

The art by Takeshi Miyazawa is solid. There’s a nice aspect to the comic where it feels like mecha and kaiju for younger readers. That’s not a bad thing at all as it makes the comic a bit more younger reader friendly and overall fits the youthful focus on the story. Miyazawa is joined by Ian Herring on color and Simon Bowland on lettering and it overall creates a comic that’s visually as full of energy as its characters are. The robot designs are solid and the kids each have a lot of personality in their body language and actions. The action as a whole is solid with the last segment of the comic really amping it up.

Mech Cadets #1 is such a welcome return of the series. Though it’s been a bit, it feels like no time has passed and we’re on to another adventure taking on alien invaders. If you have never read the series, pick up this issue and when you’re done, you’ll want to go back and see what you missed. Can’t wait to read more and see where things are going.

Story: Greg Pak Art: Takeshi Miyazawa
Color: Ian Herring Letterer: Simon Bowland
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle