Death, destruction, the greatest sacrifice of all… plus the Mall of America! Your Major Spoilers review of Section Zero #6 awaits!
SECTION ZERO #6
Co-Creators: Karl Kesel & Tom Grummett
Colorist: Jeremy Colwell
Letterer: Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Editor: Dorkfish Walinski
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: Spetember 4, 2019
Previously in Section Zero: A team of fearless adventurers uncovers the secrets behind UFOs, monsters and lost civilizations… but will they survive the Ring of Fire?
TAKE A DEEP BREATH…
Okay, I’m pretty surprised about this one. Originally presented back in the year 2000, the first three issues of this series were reprinted before the series continued with #4, where the 18 year gap was covered by… creating an 18-year gap in the in-universe narrative. This issue opens with four members of Section Zero and a Selkie named Munro in a boat, being attacked by a strange leviathan. They survive the attack, but are thrown from the boat into an eldritch portal, which transforms them to a strange island where the cryptids of lore all seem to exist. Also present: Titania Challenger, the lost leader of Section Zero, who has spent “a year” trapped in this lost world, a reality that the evil Ghost Soldiers use to jump in and out of our reality. Things really start to book from this point, with old scores settled (by flaming sword), a horde of bug-creatures powered by Section Zero member Sam’s own powers, an all-out brawl in the Mall of America and a battle between rock monster and scaled sea-monster to save reality itself. We even find out the truth about what wrecked Tina and Sam Wildman’s romance so many years ago, with a final page that could be the promise of more adventures or the perfect capper for the ones we’ve seen thus far.
…THIS ONE IS COMPLEX
This is a very exciting issue, full of incident and action, but that serves to make it a little bit confusing, as well. I had to make a second pass through to get all the bits and pieces that I might have missed, especially since mysteries set up in the previous issues had only been hinted at before getting their resolution here. I like seeing Tina and Sam reunited, the return of Lava is great (and the cover image of her is truly beautiful) and even the reveal of the truth behind Sargasso, and the last page is amazing, even if it feels like waaaay too much happened in the issue. Tom Grummett’s art style has evolved over the past 20 years, but Kesel is still the best inker for his pencils, and this issue features all the things that he loves to draw, making it a blast to look at. There are a couple of clarity issues (Grummett’s youthful figure work makes it hard to realize that Sam has aged 18 years while Tina was away, leading to a strange moment when they explain it in-character), but the fact that we end with the team that doesn’t exist united for the first time makes up for some of those issues.
BOTTOM LINE: ENTERTAINING STUFF
Back in the day, when this book was on the stands the first time, I remember thinking how there seemed to be a couple of decades worth of plotlines swirling about. Turns out I was right, but not in the way that I though, as Section Zero #6 wraps up the first arc (and perhaps the entire series?) with aplomb and even with so many things to wrap up, it hits the spot, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. It would be nice to see more of this book (or this creative team on another book), but if we don’t this is the closure that the series has been missing since the year 2000.
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SECTION ZERO #6
It's been a long time coming, but this issue wraps up a LOT of stuff quickly, and while it feels a little packed, it's a satisfying conclusion.
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Writing7
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Art7
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Coloring7
