"The Mercy of His Means"
Writer: Stuart Moore
Artists: Martin Montiel(p), J.C. Buelna(i), Mike Garcia(c)
Publisher: Penny-Farthing
Created by the alien she calls father, Halle is a human hybrid bonded to a powerful young alien named Tau. She has become the champion of Zendra, the planet of the lost humans whose worlds were decimated by the Jekkaran Empire. The Jekkarans have discovered the last refuge of humanity, but something more powerful is at work.
The Great Machine at the heart of the artificial planet is causing the inhabitants and invaders to experience different realities thus inducing coma-like states. To save the last of humanity, Halle and two other enhanced humans seek to stop the Great Machine. Last issue we discovered Aleph, the former love of Halle, infiltrated her mission for his own selfish purpose--the quest for his own enhancement.
This issue, Halle battles Aleph and comes to terms with her bond-friend Tau. The conclusion to a winning mini-series from Penny-Farthing captures the desperation of the characters and brings thier heroism to the surface. While there is good science fiction to be found in these pages, Zendra really is a super-hero book with Halle as a very effective protector.
Zendra does however escape a traditional super-hero plot by surprising through the villain's actions, and there's another layer beneath almost zenlike in effect that still gives the victory to our hero Halle, even if it's not a victory she particularly desires.
Zendra mingles together plot and character to alloy a strong, engrossing story. If creators Martin Montiel and J.C. Buelna with writer Stuart Moore wanted, they could have made Zendra into a fantastic prose only novel. Instead, they chose the more daring option of forging a comic book. Penny-Farthing is technically an independent, but such a designation usually denotes quirky or bad artwork. Mr. Montiel and Buelna make the characters proportionate and emotive. They create a fantastic scifi setting completed by Mr. Garcia's vivid color schemes and as well storyboard to an internal continuity. Zendra is all around a professional production dependent on an enticing cast of characters and a strong plot in a carefully crafted universe.
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