Rook: Exodus #5 // Review
Pigs shouldn’t talk. It was a pretty rude thing to communicate at that point, but he wasn’t exactly in a good frame of mind. He came to and there was this giant board looming over him. So he was a little frustrated and a little confused. And so h said the wrong thing. It’s okay, though. The giant boar in question is actually pretty nice as he’s about to find out in Rook: Exodus #5. Writer Geoff Johns continues an appealing, little science fantasy Eries with artist Jason Fabok and colorist Brad Anderson. The series continues in a surprisingly psychological fifth chapter of the series.
The huge boar has the rather unfortunate name of “Pumba.” It’s a big and pleasant thing that seems rather concerned with Rook’s wellbeing. He’s going to need the ally too...it’s a very hostile environment that he finds himself in and he’s having some difficulty connecting-up with the avians he’s in charge of. There are moments that seem to call out to him from his past. He was born a farmer and now he’s the protector quite a bit of the life on the planet. Before Rook is going to realize the full significance of this, he’s going to have to take a deep dive into his own past.
Johns takes a deeper look into the nature of Rook while also exploring the similarities and differences between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. There’s also a look at the nature of intelligence itself while also exploring some more of the fantasy world that Rook finds himself in. There’s a hell of a lot going on in Johns’ script. And while it lacks the full depth that all of the themes and topics would need in order to be truly insightful, it’s just really, really cool that Johns is diving into any of this at all in a sci-fi actions story.
Fabok’s art has a raw, organic sense of linear detail about it that serves to amplify that earthiness of the action and drama that Johns is centering the script around. Beyond the detail, Fabok is framing the action in a way that moves the momentum of the story from one panel to the next with an animalistic cunning that also feels right at home with Johns’ script. Anderson’s colors lend a splendid sense of atmosphere and luminosity in the visuals whether they’re delivering the feeling of fire, the sun in daylight or the distant stars at night.
There are quite a few layers to the plot and thematic intensity of what Johns is delivering to the page. The art team does a sharp job of weaving it all together with style and poise that beautifully brings all of the elements of the story together. There’s even some suggestion that Johns and company may be reaching for something deeper in the long run that has yet to fully materialize on the horizon of the series just yet. Rook had a lot going for it in its fifth issue.
Grade: A
