Tag Archives: bin lee

Review: Delegates #9

Delegates #9

When the going gets tough, sometimes uneasy alliances are a way for us to move forward. We may find ourselves reaching for people we would not normally be aligned with. They also can be more manageable relationships, as you can be more objective than actual friendships. In my experience, the ones where everyone has their own agendas are usually the strongest.

Most uneasy alliances also can be tender as they may be hanging on a string. An episode of Mayans MC shows what happens when your connection is not easily aligned. One thing can offset what could be a fruitful partnership. In the ninth issue of Delegates, we find two characters with opposite agendas forging a coalition.

We catch up with our heroes shortly after the events of the last issue where they were attacked at their temporary refuge. They looked to rebuild by reaching out to the local warlord Tau. Aminah’s advisors plead for her to think of alternative means. They eventually hold court with Tau looking for safe passage. Aminah offers him a favor if they retake the capital. By the issue’s end, Amina and her associates fall into a trap.

Overall, an exhilarating chapter in this tense dogmatic thriller, that gets into the layers of negotiation leaders go through. The story by Bin Lee is intellectual and fast-paced. The art by the creative team is stunning. Altogether, a story that shows anything can tip the scales in a delicate sociopolitical climate.

Story: Bin Lee
Art: Kendal Gates, Rebecca Harris, Heather Breckel,
and Taylor Esposito
Story: 10 Art: 9.6 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Delegates #7

Delegates #7

Trust is a fragile thing that’s earned and soon after, needs to be preserved. People who trust too easily find that faith broken way too fast. Those who don’t trust as easy are because they’ve been burnt too many times. Trust becomes more important when it comes to life and death situations.

When I was in the military, and I was in situations where one wrong turn could be my last, I trusted the man behind me and sometimes in front of me, to watch out for me. At that moment, complete faith in each other is what ultimately brought most of us home in one piece. When you have trust in another human being like that, unwavering, it becomes because of the solidarity you all hold together. In the seventh issue of Delegates, we find our protagonists in new situations that will put everything they believe in question.

We find Marla shortly after someone made an assassination attempt on the President, as the villagers want to execute General Uba’s right-hand man for his audacious attempt, which gives Aminah pause, showing her ability to reason despite the fact that she’s an android. We also find Victoria still recovering from her injuries, while warning Marla and Amina of the impending wave of blowback that is yet to come form news of her being a robot. We also find Saito working under meager conditions knowing that his work could not only mean the survivability of Aminah and the future of the country. We also find General Uba, fighting to keep the country afloat, as his leadership is questioned.

Overall, a powder keg of an issue, that ignites that the moments you least expect. The story by Bin Lee is extraordinary. The art by the creative team is simply breathtaking. Altogether, another action-packed installment in an already excellent series.

Story: Bin Lee
Art: Kendall Gates, Rebecca Harris, Heather Breckel,
and Taylor Esposito
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Advance Review: Delegates #6

The shock and dismay that settled in shortly after Donald Trump was elected President cannot be understated. The world’s collective gasp left the future so much grimmer and darker. The initial hope of a sustainable change was quickly dashed a few weeks into his term. Americans everywhere who had morals quickly realized just how hopeless our future is.

This is where the injustice felt, drives your purpose and even though you know the odds against you, you still believe even when everything you have done is right, and you still get disappointed, when the result is the opposite of what you hoped for. So many who have never experienced it before finally felt how it was not for justice to be served. Something persons of color regularly experienced and felt. When the world and voters everywhere saw who Trump really was, most of the world already knew and many others acted as if they were shocked. In the sixth issue of Delegates, we find Aminah, dealing with the aftermath of revealing what she truly is.

We find one of Aminah’s aides being interrogated by General Uba, who is questioning her about the rumors that Aminah is an android, looking to see if there is any validity to them. As Uba’s cousin, Captain Baptiste, is closing on in on Aminah and Marla, and so does Victoria, who is looking to extract the whole group. As they look to escape, Captain Baptiste finally catches up with them, but the village comes to their rescue leading to an all-out fight between the villagers and Baptiste’s men.

Overall, it’s a fun issue that ends this first story arc with a guns a blazing and some truths told. The story by Tina Cesa Ward and Bin Lee is smart, sweeping, and action packed. The art by the team is luminous and superlative. Altogether, an excellent issue that closes a great story arc and leaves the possibilities limitless.

Story: Tina Cesa Ward and Bin Lee
Art: Felipe Cunha, Rodrigo Urbano, Anwar Hanano, and Taylor Esposito
Story: 9.7 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.6 Recommendation: Buy

Imagine Bin provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Delegates #4

Before I joined the military, one of the many news stories that stuck in my head which revolved around military occupation was the massacre in Rwanda. That two tribes who had shared a national identity would, without apprehension, employ genocide to wipe out a people and a history. These, as an elderly woman once reminded me, “are how civilizations vanish.” The miracle of modern technology makes it that we don’t forget these horrible events and the victims who fell because of it.

The thing about places like Rwanda that most people don’t think about is the aftermath. Usually, when such life altering events occur, those who pick up the pieces afterwards sometimes don’t have the best of intentions. Usually crime becomes a problem, then poverty, which both breathe from desperation. In the fourth issue of Delegates our protagonists find new allies while also finding new trouble.

Our protagonists are on the run and find some refuge at a local radios station where we meet Daoud, a scientist, and Weseka, a local farmer. Meanwhile, Inez tries to find out exactly what is going on back at the capital keeping Aminah in the loop. As they leave the station, they are under fire, which one of their new “friends” orchestrated, as the one most underestimated betrayed the president and the rest of the team to some local bandits. By issue’s end, Aminah decides to reveal exactly who she is, making the game even more fierce for her and her compatriots.

Overall, an action-packed issue that changes the stakes for the protagonists while introducing new allies and enemies. The story by Bin Lee is entertaining and fast paced. The art by Felipe Cunha is as always, alluring. Altogether, this is where the story gets really good.

Story: Bin Lee Art: Felipe Cunha
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Delegates #2

There is something thought-provoking about people who lie on a consistent basis. It is certainly more than what is on the surface, as there usually layers beneath that. As most people with a moral compass tend to catch up with the dishonesty and not the reason behind the deceit. This is where most people usually falter, and hope change can be achieved.

As honorable as this line of thinking, looks to be, most people who are habitual liars, will continue to lie to get their way. This brings me to the point, of how often habitual liars, are lifelong bureaucrats. This has its roots in politics and becomes even more complicated as geopolitics become embroiled as it becomes very dangerous. In the second issue of Delegates our hero continued to grapple with the truth with insurgents getting closer.

Fulawodaabe still in shock over the president’s well-hidden secret asks for answers, one that she may not be ready for. She soon finds out her employers are behind most of the clandestine oligarchies that rule most of these Third World countries. We also meet Victoria, director of Pnyx and of the Delegates program, which runs each of these countries as she tries her best to keep the program surreptitious. By issue’s end, Saito defies company orders and a change in basic assumptions awaits our heroes.

Overall, an excellent second issue that just ups the ante and gives readers a deeper understanding of why the Delegates program exists. The story by Bin Lee is intelligent and fast paced. The art by Felipe Cunha is beautiful. Altogether, an issue that gets close to the action without sacrificing the story.

Story: Bin Lee Art: Felipe Cunha
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Delegates #1

The term “civil unrest” is oft used term these days, more as a reaction to morally bankrupt rulers than certain civil rights issues. The number of protests across America, has only sparked outrage across the world, as people all over the globe feel the same way. The most recent issue of gun violence, after years of incontinence by legislators has pushed a sea change in the people rising and saying enough is enough. Even Sir Pau McCartney showed up this past weekend at the protests, reminding everyone, that his best friend, John Lennon, died due to gun violence.

As important as these issues are here in America, it is even more so in Third World countries, and the way some governments there treat civil unrest can be fatal.  As most of us who live in this world know, not everything is black or white and one is not necessarily able to change things. Which is why the question becoming, with local police using paramilitary tactics, how soon it will before foreign government starts using technology to extinguish uprisings? This is the question that the creators behind Delegates seeks to ask and answer and does so, masterfully.

The reader is transported to the country of Fulawodaabe, as we are brought to the installation of president Kokumo, the country’s first woman to hold the seat, one full of hope to change the country for the better. Fast forward two years later, and the country faces protrsts , one that threatens Kukomo’s livelihood, which causes concern for some of her staff, including a a young woman, named Hembadoon, an American transport, who has the Kokumo’s ear. The insurgency becomes violent, and the rebels have invaded the presidential palace, leaving Kokumo to flee. By issue’s end, Kokumo and Hembadoon are at odds, as both of their secrets opens each other’s eyes to the lies Fulawodaabe has had to believe.

Overall, an excellent first issue that deftly blends a political thriller and science fiction in a tightly wrapped story. The story by Tina Cesa Ward and Bin Lee is genuine and smart. The art by the creative team is gorgeous and engaging. Altogether, an excellent debut issue will put its hooks in he reader and never let go.

Story: Tina Cesa Ward and Bin Lee
Art: Sabrina Deigert, Felipe Cunha, Leigh Walls, and Doug Gabark
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy