Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: amelia earhart, elsewhere, image comics, Jay Faerber, Sumeyye Kesgin

Elsewhere #4 Review: Cool Premise, Unexciting Execution

Elsewhere #4 finds Amelia and her cadre launch their assault on the fortress. It is a straightforward assault on the backs of the flying mounts. Their goal: find Frank and the rebels' allies which were captured. What all they will find is unknown, but a deadly resistance is all-but assured.

Coming up with universe-hopping explanation epic for Amelia Earhart is a pretty cool idea. Her disappearance is one of those great American mysteries which people love to speculate about like Jimmy Hoffa, Area 51, and what the hell did we do to deserve everything that happened in 2016.

As much fun as the crux of Elsewhere is, everything around it leaves a lot to be desired. There's very little unique material Elsewhere. It's a generic sci-fi/fantasy war story involving rebels, a cruel totalitarian regime, and a determined hero. The retro-futuristic weaponry adds very little, and the alien designs aren't particularly exciting. It actually resembles John Carter quite a bit, sans the barbarian-esque angle of that series.

Amelia herself is a stone-cold badass, but she doesn't exhibit a lot of personality beyond grim determination. She's not all that fun to read about.

The twist towards the end of the comic isn't especially great either, and the motivations revealed through it are vague and hard to buy.

The best part of the comic is the art, even if it doesn't do anything new or eye-catching to pump life into the comic. It's functional, but it doesn't do anything with the atmosphere or tone. The deathknight armor design of the evil overlord of this realm looks pretty sweet, though, and the fortress layout is neat.

The color work is similarly functional but unexciting. It's good, but it doesn't go anywhere unexpected or exciting.

Elsewhere isn't an offensively bad comic. It never upset me with its mediocrity, but mediocre it still is. It rides a lot of tropes and does nothing exciting with its cool premise. The characters are bland, the dialogue is spotty, and the art is solid but unexciting. I can't recommend this one. Give it a pass.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!