It seemed like the perfect place – until Blacktop Bill arrives! Why is Tiberius talking to him, and what does the mean for Val, Emory, and Bailey? Find out in Nocterra #6 from Image Comics!
NOCTERRA #6
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Tony S. Daniel
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Andworld Design
Editor: Will Dennis
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 18, 2021
Previously in Nocterra: Val, Emory, and Bailey reach the sanctuary where Tiberius is. Lux is real, a bright light that glows like sunlight. Emory turns on Val just as he is about to start the cure. When Val regains consciousness, Emory has reverted to normal. Val and Bailey consider staying. Val talks with Tiberius, who claims to know nothing of the science behind this; that was all his brother’s work, he just did the building. Apparently, there are other places like this, called Prisms. He also shows Val that behind the darkened glass of the walls, they keep human Shades they are studying. When Emory regains consciousness, Val tells him she plans to stay. But he talks about the visions he had when he was sick and recovering, and that he could communicate with the Shades. He feels there is a war upcoming, and he wants to be doing something, not hiding. Val goes to see Tiberius again and finds him…talking to Blacktop Bill!
AN AGE-OLD CONFLICT MADE PERSONAL
Nocterra #6 opens with a flashback to the last days of the refuge when Val and Emory were young. After it became apparent that the sickness could not be cured, it didn’t take long before the Shades overran the place, killing nearly everyone.
Is the same thing going to happen again? Bill orders Tiberius to open the doors so he can finish killing people. Tiberius admits that his job was to kill Augustus and his family – but not to slaughter everyone in his path. Val picks up a gun, but as she aims at Tiberius, two armed guards pull their guns on her. Soon Emory and Bailey are brought in. Apparently, there was longstanding animosity between the brothers Tiberius and Augustus. Tiberius sold his brother out for his own chance to move up among the people who will be in charge. Tiberius leaves to let Bill in. The three young people get free from their guards, but there is nowhere for them to go.
Bailey was forced to give up the location of Augustus’ notebook. Reading through it, Tiberius feels it will get him to Eos, the light. Bill wants to know if he has completed the Hepa tongue, the device that can translate the language of the Shades yet. Tiberius agrees to let him hear it if he kills the young people first.
Bill gladly goes back to the lab where the three are waiting for him, facing the door, huddled behind a tipped over desk. Emory triggers the flashpops they had to break the window of the Shades’ enclosure. The young people run, and it triggers Val’s memories of the refuge again. They get to the door, run outside, and head for the rig. Emory insists they need to find Eos, whatever it is.
And they run into Tiberius. Gun in one hand, notebook in the other, he mocks them for not knowing what Eos is, who Nox is, and what the origin of the darkness is. They will just be wandering around in the dark.
There is more to the story; this is the end of the arc. I don’t want to give it away, because it has an impact that is more powerful in the experience than a retelling. Suffice it to say that it does a beautiful job tying together the story, showing us how pieces fit together, but also leaving threads open, to say there could be much more to come.
IT’S ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN
Nocterra #6 reminds us that there is and has been a lot of death and violence since the Big PM. The art does a good job portraying the massacre, for massacre it is, of the refuge at the open with a surprisingly modest amount of gore. It is still horrifying, and there are scenes later showing, for example, someone who is torn in half. But most of it is shown at somewhat of a distance, as though to give the reader some slight distance from it as well. I like the balance this strikes.
Light and darkness continue to be major themes in Nocterra #6, and I really liked the way they have been used in so many ways. It is through light grenades that the young people can make their escape. When they leave the Sanctuary, they return to the outside world of permanent darkness, heading for Val’s rig which is dead. It may be dead, but it is on a hill, and with a little gravity, can she escape from the darkness, or at least buy a little time?
BOTTOM LINE: A FINALE WITH A BLAST
Nocterra #6 is thrilling to read. The plot behind the plot feels convoluted and somewhat confusing, but the central characters have always had more clear and solid goals. Val may not be perfect, but she is tough and creative.
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Nocterra #6
Has Val reached safety, or is history doomed to repeat itself?
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Writing8
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Art9
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Coloring8
By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.