TNTM Trade of The Week: DESCENDER VOLUME THREE: SINGULARITIES

Written by JEFF LEMIRE(@jefflemire)
Illustrated by DUSTIN NGUYEN(@duss005)
Lettered and Designed by STEVE WANDS(@swands)
Copy Edited by BRENDAN H. WRIGHT

Cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN

Descender Created by
JEFF LEMIRE & DUSTIN NGUYEN

When I ordered this book from Age Of Comics I didn't realize that I had already read half of this book in issues. It took me a while to realize that. By the time I did I didn't mind that much because it had been a while so I had forgotten some of it. Then the rest of it was new to me. Now, if you haven't read any Descender before, this series is about a future where humanity is advanced to the point of space faring, exploration, alliance with some aliens, and creation of robotic AI. One day some giant robot gods show up and attack organics, then disappear. Robots are outlawed, hunted, and feared. The united galactic counsel or committee takes on a secret mission to find the origins and locations of these giant robotic gods so nothing like the first attack can happen again. The crew taking on this mission has made allies and enemies along the way, both organic and robotic. This volume focuses on the back stories of the robots and a few of the organics. Jeff Lemire is the writer and Dustin Nguyen is the artist of the series.
As far as story goes it starts with the backstory of a little robot boy. From the beginning you see how he was treated badly by an old man that hated robots and didn't want him. After the giant robot god attack he ends up on the streets where humans are hunted robots down. You see how he slowly became corrupted over time. The second chapter shows you how Telsa, the daughter of the general of the UGC, earned the secret mission that they are on. The next chapter begins from the point of view of a little robot dog that looks more like a cube with wheels. The fourth episode is about Andy and his girlfriends journey to becoming a synthetic. The final part is about the driller bot. It shows how him and his companion, a scooper bot were mistreated by the human that worked with, supervised, and used them. 
To me the final chapter was the most compelling because I cared the most about Driller. It's odd feeling for a robot especially one that is made for a specific job but they managed to do it. I realize that the little boy bot had a tough upbringing but I still didn't get why he's such an a-hole. Telsa's demeanor made a lot more sense after getting her backstory. The pup bot gave a little insight but still didn't do much. The chapter that needed and gave the most was the one about Andy and his girlfriend. It was pretty messed up. At the end of each chapter you see how it directly correlates to the current storyline. Those were some of the most powerful moments.
Dustin Nguyen has a water color approach to this series. Each chapter has a visually lighter tone but all end dark. Some are lighter, brighter, and more colorful than others at first. The first chapter had a lot of white, the second with pink, red hues, the third was mostly variations of blues, with the fourth being the most colorful with an earthy color scheme, the final chapter consisted of shades of grey and black. Nguyen does an impressive job of keeping the same look and visual style while changing the color scheme and locales to constantly keep it feeling fresh.
As a person who already owned half of this book in issue I can tell you it was still worth it. This volume may be mostly back story but it was much needed to understand most of the characters. I cant wait to see the next volume. I enjoyed this series far better in trade than issues despite how well this volume lends itself to the issue by issue format. It was a strong, compelling, interesting, and unique story, visually and script wise. 
Grade: STRONG BUY!!!

You can pick up this graphic novel at Age Of Comics or

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