Vortex 2.0 Issue #8 – Comic Book Spotlight

Hey there folks and welcome back to our coverage of Storm King’s fantastic cosmic horror series, Vortex 2.0. This is dealing with Issue 8, the grand finale. I’ll be sure to keep details light for fear of spoilers, but I encourage you to check out the issue before reading this review.

You can also check out my issue 6 review and issue 7 review at these respective links.

There’s another story this comic reminds me of but it was hard for me to place it, initially. H.G. Wells War of the Worlds. In this case, though, it’s kind of a role reversal. Humanity is put on the back foot by organisms from beyond the stars, rather than Martians being cut down by the common cold. As a bit of a germaphobe, I have to admit the idea of catching some space-borne bug or bacteria is one of the few things I do not find interesting about space travel.

Anyway! Let’s put on some biohazard suits and step on into John Carpenter’s horrific tale of interstellar cross-species relations turned sour.

Basic Synopsis

Last time, we left off on Dole Andersen sprouting Kilp legs and yelling at everyone to run away. Seems like sound advice. However, Dixon decides he’d sooner not and so he touches base with Faye Munro. She’s the last, best hope of getting whatever survivors remain off the station. She agrees, albeit reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Dusty is conferring with a mechanic who reminds her that they have tons of phosphorous rounds available. While they’re used as flares primarily, they also burn very hot and will do some damage should they need to shoot anything. Dusty is pretty happy with this idea so she goes off to gather her arsenal.

We also get a lot more insight into the ghostly Willow Sinclair and why both Dole and Dixon can see her.

This is their last stand and there’s a huge amount at stake. Will they come through unscathed? You’d better pick up an issue to find out.

My Take

So, I get that my synopsis is super brief this time around. I apologize for that but there’s a reason for it – I don’t want to give anything away. The book comes to a climax in a manner that’s equal parts satisfying and disheartening and I don’t want to rob anyone of that experience by giving the game away.

As is the usual state of things with Storm King’s comics, this is a wonderfully drawn and written book. Gore, cool machinery, wonderfully characterized players to fill each scene with personality – you couldn’t ask for much more than that. There’s an element of vitality to the art which makes each panel interesting. Even simple panels Pop.

The story… I’ll admit, I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters who we’ve been with for the last 8 issues. And it leaves a few things unanswered as well. Now, one thing I should point out is that I never did read the initial Vortex run and maybe some of the stuff I’m wondering over was answered in those initial issues. If it wasn’t made clear, Vortex 2.0 is a sequel series. Still, I’ll be eagerly awaiting news of a possible Vortex 3.0 to see whether any more world-building stuff gets done to fill in those blanks for me.

All in all, I absolutely recommend you check this book out.

You can pick up each of these issues individually, or you can pick up the collection in one book via pre-order Here, but it releases in late September!

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