For ten minutes per day, Oliver Leif can do amazing things. That only leaves fourteen-hundred-thirty minutes he has to worry about… Your Major Spoilers review of E-Ratic Recharged #4 from AWA Studios awaits!

E-RATIC: RECHARGED #4

Writer: Kaare Andrews
Artist: Kaare Andrews
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: AWA Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 8, 2023

Previously in E-Ratic: Recharged: You’re fifteen years old. You’re suddenly granted incredible powers. Cool, right? There’s only one problem: you can only use your powers for ten minutes at a time. What do you do when you have to save the world, but you only have ten minutes to do it? This is the problem faced by Oliver Leif, a teenager who has just moved to a new town, and a new school, and is having a hard enough time navigating classes and his crush before the inter-dimensional monsters started showing up.

EXCITING ART

As our story opens, 15-year-old Oliver is being interrogated by mysterious voices, insisting that he has been engaging in illegal “reborn” activities. They order him to display his powers for cataloging, but when he can’t, they send his father (who has been colluding with the mysterious organization that has captured him) to convince him. Things go very wrong for Mister Leif when the impatient faceless overlords decide that his son will likely be more motivated if they break dad’s arm. No, wait… Make that “arms.” When he’s returned to his cell, he finds that his entire school has been taken hostage, including Kristen, his girlfriend, who was present every time E-Ratic arrived. Ergo, she’s E-Ratic! Ergo, she’s obviously going to be their key to unlocking the unlimited power of The Void!

And, of course, if she doesn’t have powers, she’ll be torn to pieces by forces beyond comprehension.

THAT ‘2’ ON THE COVER IS FLUMMOXING

There’s a lot here that I’m not entirely clear on, even after brushing up on the first three issues, such as a barbarian princess traveling with a rat-creature who is apparently future Ollie, and something about his ten minutes of power becoming eternity, but it’s kind of overwhelmed by the sheer power of Kaare’s art. E-Ratticator, Ollie’s future self, looks remarkably like a Mortal Kombat character, while his girlfriend (strongly hinted to be a grown-up Kirsten behind the mask, I might add) is a dead ringer for Julie from The Maxx. That really cemented my primary thought about this issue: It reminds me of the early days of Image Comics, when every new book was a tsunami of crazy-yet-familiar characters, wild ideas, and unclear character motives. It was an exhilarating time for comics, which this issue successfully recaptures. It was also an era where the end of every book left me wondering what the hell just happened, The final pages are pretty cool, reuniting Oliver’s crew for a final webcast, but… I honestly don’t know what went on in the final battle.

BOTTOM LINE: REMINISCENT OF EARLY IMAGE

The fun parts of E-Ratic: Recharged #4 are exceptional, thanks to the strength of the art and the character bonds of the main character and his friends, but there are a few issues with the presentation and pacing of the plot elements that leave it a confusing experience that earns 2 out of 5 stars overall. I found the book enjoyable enough, but when it returns, I hope that we get a co-writer to help whip everything into shape so that the total package will be as exciting as the visuals.

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