Wonderful reunions, vampires, and revelations are in store in Ascender #12, by writer Jeff Lemire, artist Dustin Nguyen, and letterer Steve Wands. Lemire and company knock it out of the park once again, presenting another issue that's chock full of big things.

Andy takes Effie out to the woods to bury her, reminiscing on their time together. After he's done, her hand bursts through the ground. She tells him that her cybernetic systems were on stand-by, and once her heart stopped, they came back online and purged the vampire virus from her system. Their reunion is cut short, though, as General Vix and his vampire forces attack. As all seems lost, a mysterious man named Kantos appears and helps them slay the vampires, offering to take them away. Elsewhere, Mother and her Sister return to the place where Mother stole the magical artifacts. Her Sister explains that the UGC rebels are being helped by a mage who must have discovered the thing they are looking for- the Source of Magic. She then reveals the identity of the mage… and it's a shocker.

Some would say that Ascender trades very heavily on "Descender nostalgia”, and this isn't exactly false. It's a sequel after all, and the people reading it have more than likely read the previous story and want to know about the characters they grew to love in the first book. This issue definitely does that- the book's whole beginning is Andy talking about his life with Effie. Lemire strings readers along, reminding them of all the love and heartbreak, and then Effie's hand rips through the ground. It's a wonderful little moment, and while it can be said that constantly bringing back Descender characters instead of letting bad things happen to them robs events of their sting, it's still nice for Andy and Effie to reunite.

The other big part of this issue is the last page reveal, which is a shocker for sure. The UGC's mage's identity is one that readers will never guess and raises as many questions as it answers. It will be interesting to see where Lemire takes this part of the story- is it for real or a bait and switch? As far as cliffhangers go, it's a doozy.

Dustin Nguyen does his usual impeccable job. The first few pages, with Andy burying Effie, are a highlight. The coloring is all grey, white, and black, which gives the whole thing a nice funerary aspect. Nguyen uses panels of trees that blend into panels of Effie's cybernetic systems. The whole sequence is very well done. It's very subtle, but as the pages go on, it becomes more apparent that something is happening with Effie.

Ascender #12 is yet another great issue of a great comic. Lemire and company know exactly what they're doing, and while they are definitely trading on Descender nostalgia, it works perfectly. The cliffhanger at the end is the icing on the cake. Ascender #12 keeps building the story and giving readers exactly what they want.


Grade: A