As an alien construct, Travon’s purpose was to gather information about Earth. But he also made connections with people. Do those still hold any meaning for him? Find out in Monarch #3 from Image Comics!

MONARCH #3

Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Alex Lins
Colorist: Luis NCT
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Editor: Greg Tumbarello
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 12, 2023

Previously in Monarch: Miss Wilamae had a secret she eventually shared with Travon. One night she saw a strange light overhead and knew it was not from this world. A ray of light reached down from it as though it was planting something in the ground. The next day, she looked for any trace, and did find a tiny black spot in the ground. She planted a flower there. On board the alien ship, Travon awakens, feeling strange. The ship communicates with him, telling him that he is not human. It tells him the story of a peaceful alien race whose home world died. They have traveled far searching for a world to inhabit, and it is this one. They planted Travon beneath the ground to grow and to gather information. But part of what he found was family.

MARLI KNOWS A SECRET

Monarch #3 opens with some of Marli’s story. She has been present all along as Travon’s little sister, but the opening line of her thoughts sums it up for us:  Grown-ups underestimate kids. She liked to watch the stars at night and thought that there were star people out there. When Travon came to live with them, she immediately recognized that he was different. She assumed he was a star person, and her parents had sent him to look out for her. She was bullied, but even at a young age, she recognized that they were hurting too. But Travon was her new protector.

In the shelter of the school, Kurtis and Daysha look for Angie. They find Todd, who has not seen her. Daysha insists on continuing the search even when Kurtis gets tired. He confesses to not knowing if he can make it without his parents. Daysha, despite everything, is hopeful. She reassures him that things will have to be okay.

Aboard the ship, as he is taken apart and put back together, Travon realizes he had convinced humans to love him, provided information to the ships, and caused the deaths of the people in his neighborhood. He knows that, over the long run, many humans would have killed each other. But he also realizes that in his time with Miss Wilamae, he also forged bonds with her and the other kids.

The aliens need a place to live and have decided upon Earth. They realize the humans will fight until the end, even if it is futile. It is going to be a long battle, but they know their victory is inevitable. They also know that Travon has made connections on Earth, deep connections. These could be dangerous to their mission, and he will need to be eliminated.

Daysha and Kurtis open the door to the biology room and find Angie there, gagged and tied up, possibly dead. A voice tells them he wanted to play a game with her, a game called, “Catch and Kill.” And Kurtis and Daysha are the next players!

OLD BONDS AND NEW ONES

As Travon is operated on in Monarch #3, he keeps his human face and form, but his body is covered with silvery forms that suggest circuitry. We don’t know if it is some kind of outer clothing, or part of his skin and himself. But later when we see a closer view of more of the aliens, or perhaps alien constructs, they share the same kind of tracery on the outside of their bodies. It is a small detail that reminds us how alien he is. But when we look back to the beginning of Marli’s story, she spies on Travon as a little sister does and in those few panels, the newly grown Travon has some traces of that same circuitry. She may have decided on a whim that he was from the stars, but she is more right than she may ever know.

There is a small detail about the alien constructs in this issue that I particularly like. On board the ship, several small constructs work on Travon. They come in a variety of shapes, but a common theme is a central body and a cluster of limbs on one end. Other than the fact that they do not have eight legs, they bear a resemblance to spiders, but they also made me think of bacteriophages. In the context of needing to annihilate all the life on a planet, it is an interesting comparison that seems even more sinister.

BOTTOM LINE: THE SEED OF THE CONFLICT

Monarch #3 is bold and innovative. As with many alien invasion stories, their behaviors share disturbing echoes with our own. Yet despite this, one small alien has made a connection with humans and knows there is a side to them that makes their conquest more complicated.

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Monarch #3

80%

80%

Bold and Innovative

Travon now knows what he is and how, without realizing it at the time, he has brought destruction to Earth.

• Writing

  8
• Art

  8
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  8.2