Lovey, Athos, and Porthos stumble upon the horrific sight of their beloved owner, Doc, shooting the Captain of their crashed ship. Doc’s actions make the pets question their previous loving relationship with her as more of her plans are revealed. With the fate of humanity resting on Athos, Porthos, and Lovey’s shoulders, they need to decide what the future will be for it. Man’s Best #5 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan demonstrates the lengths that pets will unconditionally love their owner before they realize that it may not always go both ways. 

Ending the series on a bittersweet note, Pichetshote provides plenty of solid emotional moments in the issue as the relationship between Doc and the animals becomes fully strained. The pets see a different side to their owner compared to the more loving image they previously knew. The hard-hitting nature of these reveals serves as a testament to Pichetshote’s talented writing and inventing characters. The pets are forced to make a much more mature decision considering the literal and emotional stakes based on what they experienced as a team.   

With the animals serving as lenses through which to view humanity, Pichetshote questions whether humans should continue living based on Doc’s actions to save humans. Pets have been continuously proven to be the best parts of humanity, whereas the latter continue to fail and can never be picked up. Along with Athos being picked to decide on the fate of humanity in the alien world, Pichetshote ponders our human nature and whether we are indeed the best ones to determine our fate. Porthos’s selfless action helps bring Doc back to earth but does not truly repair their relationship. The best qualities of humans cannot be found among ourselves but in our pets, where they can overcome their differences and find common ground to survive. Our future survival depends on not killing one another but finding a way to share and co-exist. Granted that it is more complicated, it still does not take away from the themes and ideas that Pichetshote has been exploring.

Lonergan’s art showcases his sci-fi chops as he further makes the world of Man’s Best #5 even more inhuman, bizarre, and trippy. Yet the human and emotional beats still hit incredibly hard, thanks to his talented work. There were some moments I teared up when Lonergan and Pichetshote have proven to be a fruitful and robust partnership. With Jeff Powell’s lettering, they have made the series a delight to read. 

Pichetshote and Lonergan deliver an emotionally packed finale in Man’s Best #5. Even though they faced many difficult and dangerous trials and tribulations, Athos, Porthos, and Lovey proved their toughness and survival by working together. With humanity entering a bleaker period day by day, all it takes is to look at your pet for guidance on how to proceed. Pets reflect the best and worst qualities where the answers lie with them. And you don’t even need to travel to space to discover it.

Story: Pornsak Pichetshote Art/Colors: Jesse Lonergan Letterer: Jeff Powell
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.3 Recommendation: Read

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

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Purchase: Kindle

Arriving in another biome of the mysterious planet, emotional support pets Athos, Porthos, and Lovey must traverse the alien city without their mech suits to find their owner, Doc. As Porthos and Lovey argue about the state of their mission, Athos keeps the group focused on Doc’s trail. However, their mission might change at the end of their adventure. Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan take readers to the climax of Man’s Best #4, where Athos, Porthos, and Lovey learn more about Doc and her original plans for the journey. 

Shedding light on Lovey’s backstory, Pichetshote humanizes the gruff dog and gives a reason for his temper and negative attitude towards Porthos and their desire to save Doc. I am constantly impressed with how well-defined the animals are, along with how complicated their relationships are not only with each other but with humanity as well. The longer the group is away from Doc, the more their faith in rescuing her dissolves. With Lovey’s pessimism, Porthos’s optimism, and Athos’s frustration, the pets naturally come to blows again and wonder if they are too different to find similarities and work together. If our pets show our best qualities, then they can show us the worst aspects of ourselves. 

Much like the previous issues, Pichetshote and Lonergan dive into unique biomes such as floating balloon-like platforms and an intergalactic metropolis. The inclusion of the pets having a car chase and needing all three to operate the vehicle demonstrate the need to work together over their perceived differences. It also demonstrates both the pets’ intelligence and the ability to overcome problems in a dangerous world. Their experiences within the world show the need for us to work together to survive, and if we cannot, then we will perish. But they never shy from the struggle and hardship that goes into acting as a team. 

When a new issue drops, I cannot wait to see what gorgeous and wild world Lonergan draws, and I am always impressed with his artistic versatility. Balancing an alien car chase with big emotional beats, Lonergan captures the gorgeous soul of the book in his art and expressive paneling. Along with Jeff Powell’s lettering, Man’s Best #4 is a truly visually stunning book.

Arriving at the climax of the series, Pichetshote and Lonergan tee up for the finale in Man’s Best #4. Following up on the emotionally rich themes, you still feel an extremely personal attachment to the pets and experience the horror of Doc’s actual plan. Never shying away from the difficult and sometimes harsh nature of humanity, Man’s Best #4 shows that our pets are not truly innocent but are very much like us, warts and all. 

Story: Pornsak Pichetshote Art/Colors: Jesse Lonergan Letterer: Jeff Powell
Story: 9.4 Art: 9.4 Overall: 9.3 Recommendation: Read

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

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Trapped in an alien world, mech-suited animals Athos, Porthos, and Lovey continue to traverse the strange landscapes to find their owner, Doc. After Lovey gets incapacitated by a tiny alien, the other two pets are transported to another realm of the planet. With tensions between Athos and Porthos continuing, they must sort through their problems in a trippy psychic realm that leaves them both emotionally open. With emotionally solid writing, imaginative sci-fi world-building, and lovable characters,  Man’s Best #3 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan remains a unique and remarkable title. 

Athos and Porthos’s rocky and complicated relationship serves as the emotional crux of the issue. Athos wants to be the leader but lacks confidence, and Porthos never listens to his friend, creating this rocky rift they must overcome. Pichetshote never paints either character as entirely wrong but highlights the difficulty of working together as a team. Their differing viewpoints create engaging interpersonal drama that makes survival a goal not only for the planet but also for the survival of their relationship. Lastly, this conflict humanizes Athos and Porthos by giving them these relatable characteristics and emotions that further our investment in them and their relationship. 

Pichetshote and Lonergan’s decision to make the world even more alien and weird makes the sci-fi elements stand out even more. Going from a robotic world to a winter realm filled with sentient psychic ice, the readers wonder where the pets could end up next. It also helps to differentiate the challenges and obstacles the trio will face. Similarly, placing pets in this diverse world creates different problems and solutions than if a human were in this situation. It also helps drive the conflict naturally, such as when Athos and Porthos have an emotional argument where nothing is hidden due to their minds linked by the ice. Pichetshote and Lonergan continue to exceed our expectations of what type of realms the animals will experience by making them much more imaginative and different from the past ones.

Longergan’s art takes the readers to some of the most fascinating and offbeat sci-fi biomes and creatures in Man’s Best #3. Outside of the sentient ice locale, the way he depicts the psychic hivemind shared by the ice, Athos, and Porthos is mindbending and trippy, where it feels completely devoid of reality. Even with this out-there science fiction, his art and colors match Pichetshote’s strong emotional beats. With Jeff Powell’s lettering, Man’s Best #3 has excellent visuals and science fiction world-building, making it feel utterly alien from what we know on Earth.

As their literal and emotional odyssey gets more complex, Pichetshote and Lonergan force the three pets to overcome their grudges and issues if they want to find Doc and survive the dangerous world. Man’s Best #3 demonstrates the importance of being emotionally honest and open with each other to work correctly as a team. We might not have the luxury of psychic sentient ice to help air out our grievances and be open, but as humans, we still have complex and challenging relationships to overcome. True teamwork arises when we are all on the same page and understand each other.

Story: Pornsak Pichetshote Art/Colors: Jesse Lonergan Letterer: Jeff Powell
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.3 Recommendation: Read

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

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Purchase: Kindle

Crash-landed on an alien planet, emotional support animals decked out in mech gear, Athos, Porthos, and Lovey venture off to rescue their owner, Doc, and the other humans on their former spaceship. With Athos struggling to become a leader as conflict arises in the group, the three pets need to work together to survive against the dangerous threats and save Doc. As the planet becomes stranger and more dangerous, Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan continue to hit the emotional interstellar high notes in Man’s Best #2. 

Athos, Porthos, and Lovey are still great characters to follow, mainly due to Pichetshote giving them complex emotional relationships as a group. Each of the animals has their strengths, flaws, and personalities, contributing to their team conflicts. Whether it be Athos needing to take charge as the leader, Porthos learning to listen, or Lovey controlling his anger, all come across as highly human and ground the reader to their adventure. While the physical goal may be to rescue Doc and the surviving humans, the internal goal lies in them overcoming their differences to become a unit and reflect the best qualities of humanity on the survivors. Instead of following the three pets learning humanity, it instead becomes about them losing their negative human traits and becoming a mirror for humans to look towards. 

And the scope of this alien world has also been greatly expanded. Outside of the robotic klangers, readers are introduced to the more unique ecology that greets the three pets. With metallic surrounded by lava oceans or grassy forests filled with predatory tiny aliens, anything on the planet could quickly kill one of them. The dangerous nature of the world not only contributes to the journey’s stakes but presents obstacles they need to overcome as a team. Again, the planet exists as genuinely alien, which feels quite different from other settings in science fiction. It comes across as a horrifying forest dream in some parts and, in others, an industrial nightmare.

Lonergan delivers another incredible-looking issue as he navigates, drawing the pets as adorable with the diverse biomes of an alien planet and the life that lives on it. It is cohesive and feels in the right place despite the wide variety of settings and creatures he needs to draw. With his paneling, he captures the tone and mood of the different scenes, including different panel sizes and layouts for a page to capture the chaotic and dangerous energy of the pets escaping from a klanger. Man’s Best #2 has some incredible visible vibes, along with his mesmerizing coloring and Jeff Powell’s fantastic lettering.

Pichetshote and Lonergan further develop the world of Man’s Best #2 in engaging and fascinating ways while further exploring the emotional bonds of the pets on a deeper level. Their journey for survival involves tackling the planet’s dangerous threats, operating as a team, and connecting. Athos, Porthos, and Lovey are still some of the cutest animals in current comics, and you cannot help but fall in love. 

Story: Pornsak Pichetshote Art/Colors: Jesse Lonergan Letterer: Jeff Powell
Story: 9.2 Art: 9.2 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Read

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

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle