By Cat Wyatt

Issue three of Prism Stalker brings us back to the psychedelic worlds that we’ve come to know and love in just a few short issues. This issue continues the saga of the new world that Vep is supposed to be helping to colonize, at least, that’s assuming she passes all of her training.

Considering the tests that Vep has already been put through, it's not surprising that the training itself is equally (if not more) grueling. The physical training looks pretty intense, to say the least. When we tune in on the training she’s been put through; she’s already on the third cycle of it all. I’m not sure if that’s in reference to the time spent, the difficulty, or some other measure altogether. All I know is that Vep looks completely exhausted, and I don’t envy her.

Why the intense training program? Apparently, Vep and the others will be expected to capture hostile wildlife on this new planet. I think the intention is so that the wildlife can be absorbed into the colony, but if I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure if that’s accurate.

One page does a fantastic job of showing us the damages that Vep has taken during her training: exhaustion (obviously), a hurt neck, cuts, bloody nose, an injured eye, a broken arm, leg, hand, and who knows what else. So far we’ve only seen Vep doing the weight training, but clearly, there’s more than that going on – no way could that cause this much (or varied) damage.

And my assumption is confirmed in the next few panels; combat training is included in Vep’s lessons, and I think it’s safe to assume that they’re full contact. Vep and the others are being prepared to capture these new lifeforms, some of which will by physical powerful, but others will have other ways of protecting themselves. Thus the varied forms of training.

Which brings Vep to her pneumatic combat training cycle. I hadn’t heard this term before I started reading this series, but even so the name immediately felt intimidating to me. When Vep arrives to her class (late, mind you) she’s asked if she has Redsense – it turns out that Redsense is a type of empathy organ, and her race doesn’t have it (but does have something similar). In essence it allows a body to sense the presence of killer intent.

Back to the intended lesson at hand; pneumatic combat. There are three types of pneumatic comic; echoes, forms, and alters. Their first class focuses on echoes (which I think is the easiest and most well-known form, but I could be wrong about that). It’s quickly apparent why this form of combat is so effective – without moving a muscle the instructor has managed to incapacitate the entire class. They don’t even seem to be breaking a sweat in doing so. It’s actually really creepy, and I could do without seeing those images again! (okay, not really, but you know what I mean).

I think Vep was feeling temporarily discouraged at this point, but thankfully she got a reminder why she was here. Okay, technically she’s here because she got ordered to come here and she really didn’t get a say in that, but you know what I mean. Vep is here in the hopes of finding a new home for her family, for her colony. I can understand why she would hope to find her family of refugees a place to live where they wouldn’t be treated as indentured servants, and I hope this is enough motivation to keep her going through the awful tasks ahead (I mean, if this is the training, I can only imagine how much worse the real life experience will be).

The next round of pneumatic combat they’re going to learn is forms, and that one is likely going to be much more difficult. It probably doesn’t help that this instructor appears to be a lot harsher and crueler in their training, which I feel like is saying something. They have no problem beating the snot out of their students – even if that means they get killed or failed out because of it. I sort of get the reasoning – if they can’t handle this they’re not going to survive out there, but still…

I should have seen this coming – Vep doesn’t approve of the bullying techniques this instructor uses and gets herself involved. And by involved I mean beat up, of course. I don’t know what is going to happen to Vep if she doesn’t figure out the technique being taught in the next few minutes, but I don’t think it’ll be good.

This series is so unique and different from everything else I’ve been reading lately. I love the change from the norm, and the psychedelic artwork really does a great job of supporting the extraordinary plot and lifeforms. I actually don’t think this series would be half of what it is without the peculiar art style chosen.

This issue did end up feeling more like a buildup issue than anything else; everything was entirely focused on Vep’s training. Things haven’t moved forward very far, as far as the plot is concerned. Sure, we’re concerned for Vep’s safety, but I’d also be surprised if they killed or failed her before the plot got to move along a bit more. I can’t wait until we get into the meat of the series again, that should be really interesting.

Score: 3/5

Prism Stalker #3
Image Comics