Void Rivals kicked off its second story arc with a new threat coming after our on-the-run duo, Darak and Solila. Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici certainly made Proximus a dangerous threat that could kill Darak and Solila as soon as they find them. With such a set-up the second story arc for Void Rivals is positioned to be bigger than the first arc. We got the chance to check out an early copy of Void Rivals #8. Check out how it turned out with our advance review.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Lorenzo De Felici
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Rus Wooton
SOLICITATION
“Darak and Solila go face-to-face with Proximus — face-to-face with… certain death?” – Image Comics & Skybound
REVIEW
Void Rivals #8 does not necessarily push the overall narrative forward for the world. What it does do is pack a ton of action that has a lot of meaning behind it. In the process Robert Kirkman and Lorezo De Felici focus on putting over Darak, Solila, and Proximus.
Obviously, the big selling point of this issue is Proximus hunting Darak and Solila down. Kirkman and Felici do not let us down at all with how Proximus goes about doing his job. From the moment Proximus appears in Void Rivals #8 you feel how dangerous they are. The way that Felici handles the first appearance of Proximus in this issue the Predator theme is something that immediately came to mind. The entire presentation is nailed of a deadly mercenary that you get concerned is coming after our lead characters.
That all builds up well into the big showdown of this issue. Again, the choreography of all the action nails a big blockbuster movie action scene would go. Kirkman shows a lot of trust in Felici to let the artwork tell the story of the struggle. The emphasis on the choreography makes the dialogue we do get add to the flow of the way the action is framed.
While Proximus hunting Darak and Solila is the main story of Void Rivals #8 there is also some good character focus work done. The character work for Solila in particular is what will stand out in this issue. We learn more about Solila that gets you not only more invested in her character but also the world. It is a great way to continue the world building around Darak and Solila as they are the ones we are experiencing the world of Void Rivals from.
All of this works to further establish how much we still have to learn about what is going on in Void Rivals. The story feels like it is only getting started even with how much has already happened. By establishing Proximus the series also further develops its own identity, so it isn’t reliant on the Transformers aspects to be needed every issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Void Rivals #8 is an exhilarating new chapter that firmly establishes Proximus as a Predator-like threat. This along with the character work for Solila all build greater investment in the world building of this series.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Check out a preview of the covers and interior pages for Void Rivals #8 by clicking here.
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