Clone #10: Review


Clone 10# marks the end of this series’ primary plot question — will Luke Taylor be reunited with his wife. But the team at Clone has done a good enough job a developing other subplots that the momentum to keep reading is absolutely there.

Here’s the official word from Image:

From ROBERT KIRKMAN’s Skybound imprint, comes a sci-fi story like you’ve never seen before! Dr. Luke Taylor’s perfect life comes to a dramatic halt when an identical, bloodied version of himself arrives at his doorstep with news that he is one of many clones… and they’re all after his pregnant wife and their unborn child!

You would have thought that readers were still clone-weary after what felt like a decade of Spider-Man’s own clone saga, but writers David Schulner, Aaron Ginsburg, and Wade McIntyre have done an excellent job of re-imagining the story possibilities that clones offer. Their biggest leap was this — playing less with the “which one is this one?” trope, and adding more straight-up action adventure elements.

Clones #10 offers at least three action-oriented plot lines; we weave between government conspiracies, prison breaks, and (maybe most notably) a resolution to the crisis that kicked-off the story — the kidnapping of Luke Taylor’s wife. They’re all handled nicely, but the later seems the most significant, and deserved more air-time. Yes, there’s a nice moment where Eric (the clone who’d been caretaking Luke’s wife) reflects on how he posses Luke’s residual feelings for Luke’s family, but for a drama that’s propelled 9 issues, the ending of this plot point feels too quick. And maybe too tidy.

Juan Jose Ryp’s art is beautifully textured, richly detailed and incredibly expressive. It’s one of the main treats of the book, and I often found myself lingering on the pages just to catch all that he had done. His style is especially powerful in large panel shots, which Clone #10 has in spades. While most artists might pull away and drop detail in moments like these, Ryp leans forward and creates bright, lasting images.

Even though the initial drama of Clone has been resolved, there’s still plenty going on; this title has done a nice job of offering readers a book that seems capable of a lengthy and enjoyable run.

4/5

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