“What if James Bond realized he was conditioned to believe he worked for people who had nothing but good intentions?”
What if this series was about so much more than that? Issue 5 blows the doors wide open on the world of Edward Zero.
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Will Tempest
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by Clayton CowlesThe solicitation text for this issue of ZERO has been censored by the Agency. There is nothing to see here.
It’s fitting that the solicitation for issue #5 of “Zero” is a play on the concept of redacted information. When considering the actual content of the issue, this works on so many levels. In some ways, being kept blind to the real story is what “Zero” has been all about, so far. Kot has sold the book on the simple question that I opened the review with. What do you do when you find out the truth and it changes everything you thought you knew? That’s what Edward Zero is going through, but issue #5 plays the meta game by putting its readership in a similar position. It goes without saying that we won’t be spoiling it for you here. Think of it as our own little bit of redacted information.
Issue #5 mostly concerns the fallout from the intense chase in the last issue. Zero is broken and beaten, but such is the life of a highly trained agent. Kot slowly and deliberately takes Zero through a post-mission “debriefing” of sorts, which not only advances the plot but gives us a better idea of the differing motives of his handlers or superiors – Roman Zizek and Sara Cooke. We see the relationship between Zero’s superiors become subtly more complex, and even their relationship to Zero himself is given additional clarity and insight. Zero has some solitary moments as well, where we don’t learn so much about his character, but more about his relationship to the world. There’s been a toll taken on him over the years, but a dissonance between that toll and his ability to cope or deal with that. “Zero” #5 examines the physical and emotional scars on his life and sets them against Zero’s muted, clinical reaction to it all. He’s been conditioned for this stuff all his life.
Until now, “Zero” has been a fairly straightforward secret agent thriller title. The mix of art talent and the chronological trickery made it something unique and special, but it was grounded in gritty reality. Best of all, it sort of molded to whatever artist was doing its particular issue. Tradd Moore’s issue #2 was a kinetic and bloody affair that showed a cold assassin raised from youth. Michael Walsh’s issue #1 was a gritty, pulsating beat-the-clock military thriller. “Zero” was, and still remains, versatile in that way. The formula of not having a formula is working beautifully. At the end of issue #4, we saw that there’s actually a bit more science fiction to the whole affair than we might have suspected. Issue #5 ends up being a mind bender that potentially means “Zero” as a series could be something else entirely. Something extremely exciting and further-reaching in scope than was apparent even an issue ago. It’s a game-changer.
Will Tempest takes the art duties here, and does such an amazing job letting his personal style through while so obviously nailing all of the through-lines that visually define “Zero” as a series. There’s not been an artist yet that hasn’t contributed their own vision and yet played well inside the world that “Zero” is building. That’s the magic of “Zero” and its unique collaboration of artists and writer. Tempest applied perhaps the cleanest, straightforward approach to the artwork out of any artist yet, which is superbly fitting for an issue that mostly takes place in the quiet, introspective space in-between fire fights and espionage. Zero’s muted expressions play extremely well with Kot’s approach to writing the character as semi-programmed. With the other characters, Tempest shows the ability to convey a range of emotions – again, all playing nicely against Zero’s muted personality.
Tempest approaches the issue with a strictly grid-style layout, though the number of panels increases or decreases dramatically to play with the pacing. This serves to make the most tension filled moments feel almost claustrophobic, while the big reveals of the issue feel grander. It’s a winning approach.
Continued belowAnother winning approach is keeping the continuity of Clayton Cowles as letterer, Jordie Bellaire as colorist, and Tom Muller as graphic designer throughout the series. The continuity that they provide is not an imagined one. The colors cement the world of Edward Zero, even while the artists drastically change in style or the genre approach to each issue differs. Muted blues and grays offer a clinical environment for Zero’s debriefing. When it comes time for the aforementioned reveal, a brief new color scheme highlights what we should be focused on. As always is the case, Bellaire’s color choices serve to strike the reader acutely and effectively. Muller’s ultra-modern design sensibilities make the entire package something to pour over, beyond the interior art and script. The covers and back matter are required reading, rather than mere supplements.
“Zero” is only 5 issues deep and yet it’s already established itself as the most scintillating comic book on the shelves. It’s not just critically acclaimed, but consistently one of the most entertaining books too. It didn’t take long to become a water-cooler series here at Multiversity Comics, and it’s easy to see why. Because of Ales Kot’s commitment to keep the book thrilling, to meet high standards of quality, to challenge what you think you know, and to put the absolute pitch-perfect creative talent out with every single issue, “Zero” has become one of the finest specimens that the comic book medium has to offer.
Final Verdict: 9.5 – A must buy. “Zero” is a celebration of the comic book process.
