Publisher: Image Comics
Writers: Xurxo G. Penalta, Brandom Graham
Artist: Xurxo G. Penalta
Colourist: Xurxo G. Penalta
Release date: Out now
Price: $3.50/ Digital: $2.99

By far the best part of 8House: Kiem #3 is Xurxo G. Penalta’s art. It looks like Penalta learned at Moebius’s knee; the cityscapes and barren wastelands would have made Moebius proud. The details in the artwork are endless, the lines clean. Add this to Penalta’s colouring and you have effective contrasting in all things light and dark. The only weakness exists in Penalta’s faces, which are generally under defined.

Unfortunately, the writing can’t match the artwork. The two previous issues of 8House: Kiem #3 had a different story line, and 8House: Kiem #3 feels like you walked into the middle of a movie. And by the end of this issue you, the reader, will still not have enough information to understand anything. It’s a like a mathematical algebra problem that doesn’t give you enough data to solve the equation.

But, not for want of trying, here goes: protagonist Durzema-Kiem wakes in a medical unit being transported back home to her crèche. Her injuries are not explained. She’s commiserating about her brothers and whether they are still alive. Durzema-Kiem is also worried about her twin brother whom she believes to be dead, although we are not told how he died. Durzema-Kiem is part of a team fighting a war using remote control robots. But when they go on a mission it seems less like a war than intergalactic pest control.

After the mission Durzema-Kiem wakes in a strange place where she finds her brother. Was she ever really home and did she actually go on the mission? Who know? Confusion reigns.

Perhaps future issues will clear things up. Until then, 8House: Kiem #3 is a gorgeous piece of art that doesn’t need a story or dialogue to be enjoyed. And that might just be enough for you.

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker