Primordial #4
As the animals try to find their way home, Yelena and Pembrook have a decision to make in Primordial #4, by writer Jeff Lemire, artist Andrea Sorrentino, colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer Steve Wands. This issue is a roller coaster ride, and it's wonderful.
Able, Baker, and Laika realize that they're on a ship and can go home in space, as the "gift" has shown them how to fly the vessel. Pembrook warns Yelena about the helicopter coming on Earth, but she keeps setting up the transmitter. In space, the animals fly the ship but hit debris. Able goes out to fix the ship and, after almost dying, is able to remove a piece of debris lodged in the hull. However, their guidance system is still messed up. Back on Earth, soldiers burst in and tell Yelena and Pembrook to stop, but Yelena doesn't, setting off the transmitter, which takes years to get to the animals.
There's something about a comic by Lemire and Sorrentino. The two have been working together so long and so well together that they can produce something amazing. That's this issue in a nutshell. This one takes a bit of a turn in the We3 direction, as it focuses more on the animals than the humans, and that makes it all the better. Something about animals makes the whole thing that much more affecting. Their innocence and sadness resonate through the comic and make their struggles to get home that much more poignant. The moment with Able trying to fix the ship is suspenseful and close to heartbreaking.
The book takes an interesting turn at the end. Laika wants to get home to Yelena, and Yelena wants to see her. The way things are structured, it's doubtful it's going to happen, which adds an extra layer to the sadness that permeates this issue. Beyond that, it gives readers glimpses into an alternate future so that they have no idea what to expect in the next issue. It's a great ending that begs for one last hurrah, just to see how the whole thing ends.
Sorrentino is in top form in this issue. Changing up his style for the parts with the animals and the humans makes all the difference. Drawing the scenes with the animals differently than he usually would really hits the readers' heartstrings that much more, working with the limited dialogue to get across how they feel. His art makes the scene of Able fixing the ship shine in a way it wouldn't in the hands of another artist.
Primordial #4 grabs the reader and never let's go. Lemire and Sorrentino are an amazing team, and they invest this comic with emotion throughout, making the story hit that much harder. They'll certainly stick the landing, but it will be sad to see this one end.
