You know what I like about ongoing series? They’re kind of like soap operas in the way that you can miss several episodes and still comeback and have a basic understanding of everything that’s happening. Case in point Soldier Zero from Boom! Studios. The last issue I read was probably issue nine, but I was able to jump on to this issue for the big conclusion of the year long story arc that’s been building since issue one. The story is pretty simple at this point; Stewart aka Soldier Zero is fighting some aliens that have come to Galactify the planet in order to keep the future going. SZ basically tells them to “stop fronting” and get off his planet. He also figures out even more of the mysteries surrounding his suit and why so many damn aliens are interested in earth. That’s pretty much the entire story as most of it is recap and action… lots of action.

As much action as there was though, it was a bit lack-luster since SZ didn’t do any harm to the future aliens and they barely attempted to do anything to him. I’m not sure if that was a flaw in the writing or the art, but it felt like the same scenes over and over with vaguely different dialog. All in all though, it was still very enjoyable and felt like it finally paid off after a year of issues. Abnett and Lanning are as consistent as always and have done a great job on the series since taking over.

The art continues to be an issue with me on this series. At times Javier Pina draws rich full scenes that capture the world perfectly and the rest of the time he fills the book with character scenes that lack any background detail at all. It’s not bad, but it just seems like at this point that he’s not living up to his full potential and I’m not sure if its due to the schedule, skill or direction.

This is a very solid issue and really shows the books potential to be a long running series, but it will always need top tier writing and art talent to keep going. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s something to worry about as we kick off the next year of the series. If you’ve read the book from the start then this issue is very rewarding as far as the plot is concerned even if the action is a bit lack-luster.

Score: 4/5

Publisher: Boom Studios

Price: $3.99