Zeb Larson reviews Invisible Republic #4…
Starving and homeless on the streets of Maidstone, Maia finds refuge with a charitable stranger. But will she be betrayed when he discovers her identity? After the chaos last issue, will reporter Croger Babb finally catch a break?
Finally, this comic gets some badly needed backstory and context. For the last three issues, we’ve had to learn about McBride, Avalon and its relation to the other planets, and the government he rebelled against. Sorting through this is still confusing, especially given the number of place names that are used for the same place, but at least now there are pieces to try and put together. Not all of the characterization is in the right place, but Invisible Republic is starting to come together. I will be discussing spoilers in this review, so consider yourself forewarned.
In the past, Maia spends time homeless in the city before befriending a beekeeper who saves her life after a bombing wounds her. She spends time on his farm, and after he and his partner manage to persuade Maia to remain, they solve her labor permit problem. In the present, Croger meets up with a journalist acquaintance named Woronov, who takes him to a doctor to get patched up. They discuss the story that he’s found and head to a local book-dealer and former revolutionary who gives them some context on the planet and the McBride government.
Seeing as how the background and context is rather complicated, it might not hurt to sum up all of it here. Maidstone or Avalon is a moon in this system and was part of a larger network overseen by an as-yet unseen colonial power. Asan was the planet of primary importance, and Maidstone only existed as an exporter of raw foods for Asan. When the colonial government moved to the planet of Kent, a prolonged insurgency began on Asan. The people on Maidstone were drafted for this fight, and the government on the planet was a form of military dictatorship.
Overall, this issue was a major improvement on prior issues because now we have some context on what happened with McBride. Woronov is also going to be a welcome character, because she’s asking questions about history and the workings of government that Croger ignored for the last three issues. Unfortunately, Croger is still the weakest link among all of the characters. He comes across as nothing more than a hack looking for a big scoop, which is perhaps the intended characterization. Woronov demands context and answers, while Croger plays the stereotype of the outsider decrying the society he knows nothing about. Perhaps that’s the goal, but it doesn’t make him very interesting to follow.
The next big question is why Arthur McBride was able to attract so many supporters, apart from the general unpopularity of the military government that ruled at the time. Nobody inspires a revolution and then manages to tame the forces he kicked up for 42 years without some kind of inspirational charisma. One panel shows Maia marching in a crowd of McBride supporters, which suggests that something lured her back to Arthur’s side. Perhaps in the time that they were apart, Arthur has learned how to lead people.
Rating: 8/10
Zeb Larson
https://youtu.be/yIuEu1m0p2M?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
