Satellite Sam #5 Review

By Harrison Rawdin on Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

As we reach the fifth outing, has the engine behind this saga given up some worthwhile conclusions? Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

The plot sickens as Michael and Kara descend into some dark, DARK places together all in the name of discovering the truth behind Carlyle White’s death. The only truth they’re going to find is that some hungers never go away. Meanwhile, Guy finds himself between a rock and a hard place as his secret threatens to sneak out. It’s sex, death, and live TV the way YOU demanded it from this summer’s dark noir smash.

There’s a lot to love here, as the creative team steadily builds toward some interesting plot points. There are indeed problems, to be sure, but for the most part the comic book that we’re given is more than worthwhile as our characters slowly but surely travel toward a proper summation.

Matt Fraction handles the labor of the script just fine, as the literary expert develops the narrative just enough to keep his audience thoroughly engaged. There’s no real culmination of effort for the devoted follower, but enough of the key sequences highlight the innate humanity of the players in order to birth another resounding success. My one gripe, at this point, is the development of some of these people. They’re coming along but I worry that there are ultimately too many on deck, preventing a proper inspection of each individual, yielding a cast that feels slightly off balance.

The art by Howard Chaykin more than fits, as thick and thin pencil strokes construct a believable version of this reality. There’s a timeless quality to his skill which creates an atmosphere of authenticity while giving enough breathing room to allow some of these more sordid bits a chance to germinate. I did find a couple to be less than satisfactory, but for the most part the entire body of work did exactly what it needed to do. To sum up: it rocked.