Review: SECTION ZERO #4
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Karl Kesel
Art: Tom Grummett
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Jimmy Betacourt
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
18 years after the disappearance of Section Zero’s leader, Tittana Challenger, or as we know her, Tina, we see Thom, all grown up, still working for Section Zero. He and his new friends, Reagan and Carlos, are infiltrating a preschool full of changelings. Seriously, that is pretty much the whole summary. Thom might be onto a way to find Tina. There are sea creatures as well.
Positives
The art in Section Zero has been and still is really good. New colorist Jeremy Colwell really makes these pages pop. While the story stays put for most of the issue, there are plenty of critters and plenty of action in that one place. Fairies that turn into monsters and human hands that turn into monster hands and humans that turn into bugs are all on display here. At no point do any of those images feel out of place or forced. The world is well designed and the characters fit in that world nicely.
Negatives
Section Zero #4 is painfully slow and full of exposition filled dialogue. Even though the time line has moved up, the cringeworthiness has not. Thom and Carlos are pretending to be a gay couple and it falls so flatly on its face that it is hard to tell if that was intentional and it is supposed to be funny, or if like the causal sexism that has been running through this book since the jump, it is just a problem.
While the idea behind this issue was solid it didn’t land. This book needs to be a search for Tina or a search for critters, but it is trying to be both and it just doesn’t work. It has been hard to care for anyone in this book from the beginning. The most interesting character has been fridged and the person who is supposed to be moved to action to save her isn’t even in this issue.
Verdict
Beautiful artwork continues to be the story of Section Zero. I am interested enough to know where Tina has been, so I will keep coming back for two more months to find out. I suspect, if you have read this far, you will keep reading too.
