The plot thickens as we see Jerome has been infiltrating the base. Is there a way to get Hannah safely out before Symonds gets to her? Find out in Antarctica #9 from Image Comics!
ANTARCTICA #9
Writer: Simon Birks
Artist: Willi Roberts
Letterer: Lyndon White
Editor: Elena Salcedo
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 6, 2024
Previously in Antarctica: Melissa Symonds recruits Dr. Gohel to her organization, which is how she is in Antarctica. In the present, Gohel is with Jerome as they track Hannah and find her back inside the base, where she tries to release her double. Jerome now has the earpiece Gohel had given to Hannah, so they use this to communicate. Gohel came to the base with her assignment being to devise a suit that allowed for travel through the Fracture. Symonds, prowling the base, finds Hannah and takes her to the portal to the Fracture. Gohel orders her to stop – people who go into the fracture unprotected suffer major damage. But Symmonds counters that they have not tried sending a Hannah through.
TENUOUS ALLIANCES
Antarctica #9 opens in the recent past of the story when Jerome gets a call from Captain Williams. Somebody has changed their mind, and they are going through with their plan. Some kind of experiment is happening. We can only suspect that this has something to do with the Fracture and perhaps with Hannah. Hannah hears her father’s side of this conversation, but he sends her to bed before he contacts another man to let him know what is going down, and to promise him they won’t hurt any of the Hannahs.
At the base in Antarctica, Hannah was touched by the portal and is encased in crystal. Jerome picks her up and he and Gohel head for the infirmary. On the way, Jerome sends a signal from his phone. A couple of planes are mobilized by the man Jerome spoke with previously.
In the infirmary, Gohel tests Hannah enough to confirm that she is still alive. Then, asking for Jerome’s help, she takes him into a storage room full of odd equipment. She finds a sort of metal glove or gauntlet and asks Jerome to cut her sleeve off. One of her arms is damaged, the skin scarred and three of her fingers curled in contractures. He disinfects that arm and helps her don the gauntlet.
The control room detects the incoming planes and tries to raise Symonds or Williams. Symonds regains consciousness and orders that they scramble the guards. They ask her about Williams. After confirming the cameras are dead, she shoots him and claims that Jerome did it. She also orders the guards to bring HH-5 to her, presumably a Hannah.
Gohel and Jerome quickly realize that they are taking this Hannah to the Fracture. He decides to try to save her as well, as long as his Hannah is temporarily safe with Gohel. With her observing from the infirmary, he sneaks up on the guards. Gohel lowers the lights and Jerome attacks. But before he can escape with the girl, Symonds shoots him instead. Gohel tells him to run and shuts the lights off completely.
Meanwhile, the planes land, and a small group of armed men enter the base.
SECRETS AND CONFLICTS
There are so many forces in play in Antarctica #9 that I appreciate how distinct the characters all are, and that the base is not more densely populated. I also like how we gradually get more pieces of information as we need them. The opening sequence is a call back to an earlier issue where we saw the same event, but from Hannah’s perspective. She did not know what was going on but was still uneasy. Jerome knows but is connected with another group of people. He is playing a terribly dangerous game, but he is willing to do it at least in part for the sake of Hannah – even all the Hannahs.
Timing is everything in a suspenseful plot such as this one, and the action is laid out deftly. I like how we feel time passing even as the urgency demands our attention. This plays out well during the scene where Jerome tries to save the other Hannah. He grabbed some night vision goggles from Dr. Gohel’s storeroom, and she saw him, so when he asked her to dim the lights, she knew what he was going to do. We see those panels in green, clear from Jerome’s point of view and less well-defined than that of the guards. It is a quick and dramatic attack.
BOTTOM LINE: INTRIGUE AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Antarctica #9 holds our attention while keeping us wondering just what is going on and what ulterior motives everyone has. There are so many alliances, and it is hard to tell which are the most fragile.
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Antarctica #9
Symonds is determined to send somewhat into the Fracture while Jerome is determined that this will not be Hannah.
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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.