Gears of War #10

After a brief shootout, Marcus Fenix and Delta reach a truce with the survivors in the Locust-held city of Jilane. Joshua Ortega does a nice job keeping the world feeling consistent. Baird's dialogue in particular is so much like the game character that I can hear his voice. It's a great fit. I'm really liking Jayce too, he's the rookie Gear and he's not as hard as his teammates yet. In this issue he's trying to befriend some kids stuck in the city and he attracts the attention of one of the kids' women-warrior protectors. The survivors of the breeding camp are pretty cool too, I like the idea that they are tough enough to get respect from the Gears. Delta went to Jilane to find the source of a distress signal, and it turns out this band of survivors didn't broadcast it. They've been taking care of themselves and they seem tough and competent enough to do it.

Marcus takes Cole and Baird out into the city to find the source of the distress signal. In a weird scene, a blonde lady is sitting on the ground holding the transmitter. She reacts quite oddly to Marcus' questioning and when the team gets too close, she sends a new signal, summoning hordes of Locust. This issue was light on action, and I think it is a wise decision. Giving the characters (and readers) time to breathe allowed the characters to get some needed development and expanded the world nicely.

Liam Sharp remains the perfect artist for this book. His hulking Gears have been spot on from the start, but now he gets to draw Amazonian warriors who look just as intimidating. Neat stuff.

Good