The trio are reunited and, with Porthos taking the lead, they follow the kidnapper’s trail. Will that lead them to Doc? Find out in Man’s Best #4 from BOOM! Studios.
MAN’S BEST #4
Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Artist: Jesse Lonergan
Colorist: Jesse Lonergan
Letterer: Jeff Powell
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 19, 2024
Previously in Man’s Best: Lovey is knocked out and captured by Tinies. Porthos and Athos get swept away into an area covered with ice. Porthos wants to go back and rescue Lovey, but they find the kidnapper’s scent. Athos wants to follow it and find Doc. Instead, they are struck by a light beam and soon are communicating with sentient ice creatures. These creatures believe that the planet they are on is a sort of traveling zoo. They share memories. The robots are not the first beings here to worship the giant eye entity as a god. But the three Earth animals are the first ones that have been able to cross the gates between biomes. The ice beings also know about the Tinies. They are feeding off his negative thoughts and draining his life. Porthos and Athos wake up in time to rescue Lovey.
THE CHASE IS ON!
Man’s Best #4 opens with Porthos, Athos, and Lovey reunited and standing in front of the ice cave where they found the kidnapper’s scent. This time Porthos leads the way, going blithely from one weird biome to another, confidently following the trail. Following her, Athos tries to understand her confidence and her thought process.
They spot the kidnapper, but it moves faster than they do. Porthos jumps into a vehicle, scaring the owner. Together, the three operate it to chase the kidnapper. It is a rough ride, but working together, they are able to keep on the trail, chasing it until it starts to go through another gate, and Porthos bowls it over. Porthos jumps on it and demands to know where Doc and the Captain are. She does not understand this creature, but Athos understands that it seems to be saying it is going to hurt, or even kill, Doc. While the animals are shocked, the kidnapper quickly shifts out of their grasp, ducks through the gate, and slams it shut.
Despite her confidence, Porthos cannot force this gate open. She slams her force field into it again and again, only succeeding in damaging her suit to the point where it no longer functions. This sets off an argument among the three of them and we learn a little more about Lovey’s back story. He was the rescue dog who was adopted, and then sent back, over and over. He believes in the hopelessness of their situation as firmly as Porthos believes that they will succeed. And Athos realizes that, considering their experiences, their views make perfect sense. But how can the three of them work together when their core beliefs are so different?
As Athos wonders about this, he has an idea and races back to where they had the struggle with the kidnapper. He finds a piece of it and races back to the gate. His hunch is correct – the gate opens.
They come through into yet another completely different kind of area, but this one has the Don’t Touch in it, the thing that had been aboard their ship. And then they find the Captain!
A SHIFT IN LEADERSHIP
As Man’s Best #4 continues to jump biomes, the art continues to have fun with them, making them vastly different from one another. But what I particularly enjoyed in this book was the depiction of the kidnapper. Up until now, we have not had a good look at it. Now that we see it, it is weirdly alien. Its body is made up of random, angular shapes so flat and of such even color that it almost feels like it is two-dimensional. If it has three dimensions, they come from folding the flat planes of its being. The only curved shape on it is the eye. When it speaks, its text boxes are as strange as it is. After it escapes, it does leave a few pieces behind. When Athos picks one up, it looks like he is picking up a paper airplane.
The argument among the three main characters is also well supported by the art. The panels show them in tight focus, and all their faces have expressions that can practically be heard as snarls. The background, instead of showing the details of the current biome, is swirls of red, emphasizing their anger and frustration. The jump to Lovey’s story, in a black-and-white flashback, is abrupt and poignant. Lovey has always been so cantankerous and tough, but a dog’s life is not aways easy.
BOTTOM LINE: FACE TO FACE WITH THE UNEXPECTED
Man’s Best #4 brings the animals closer to their goal, but they still do not yet understand that their situation is more complicated than having a couple stray crew members.
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Man's Best #4
Porthos takes the lead and follows Doc’s trail, which leads them right to the kidnapper!
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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.