Skyward #3 Review

Skyward #3

Publisher: Image
Writer: Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Letterer: Simon Bowland

Review by Michael Farris, Jr.

In Skyward #3 Willa is catching up with Roger Barrow, an old accomplice of her dad’s. And, despite a friendly seeming conversation, he tries to draw out the location of her father for his own nefarious purposes. His façade as a nice person who cares eventually breaks down, and he tries to force the information out of her, causing her to flee and attempt a daring escape from Barrow’s building. Along the way, Willa makes a discovery that one of her friends is not quite who they appear to be at the beginning.

One of the strongest points, to me, about Skyward is how well-written the characters have been in this now three-issue-old series. This is emphasized in the first two pages of issue three: we have one small box of text, and that text punctuating the morbid artwork masterfully establishes that Richard Barrow is a lying liar who lies. It doesn’t take Willa long to learn this unfortunate truth as she learns that Barrow is more interested in maintaining his fortune than giving back Earth the rules of gravity.

As Willa is escaping, she comes across a surprising secret, and this brings me to one of my other favorite parts about this series: there’s always something new revealed that makes the story all the more compelling. While we do get more insight into who these people are and what is going on in the world, we also get more secrets that leave us scratching our heads as we impatiently wait for the next issue to drop. But that’s the fun of reading comics, and Henderson has mastered the medium.

Speaking of masterful, the artwork in this issue continues to remain high quality and vital to telling the story that Henderson and Garbett have graced upon us. The blend of horror and humor are seamlessly executed and amplified by the believable expressions on the character’s faces.

Verdict: Buy it.

There are comics I enjoy when I get around to reading them, and then there are a rare handful of comics that I have to read the second I get my hands on them. Skyward is one of those rare stories that insists on immediate consumption. If you’re not reading this series yet, you’re in for a treat.