The end of “D4VE” is here. 34RTH is lost and the K’laar have taken over. It’s down to one retired defensebot past his prime to save the day and not destroy the planet in the process.
Written by Ryan Ferrier
Illustrated by Valentin Ramon
Without power or hope, the robots fall at the hands of the K’laar empire. This is the shocking series conclusion of D4VE.
In the three issues since we first reviewed “D4VE”, Ryan Ferrier and Valentin Ramon’s look at our modern society has only gotten better and better. As the invasion by the K’laar grew clearer and D4VE’s attempts to stop them became the focus of the book, the series has improved at pretty much every turn. With this conclusion to D4VE’s story, Ferrier and Ramon take the action, the humour and the drama of the book to new heights as they prove that even the simplest of story ideas can yield the biggest results.
The genius of “D4VE” is in it’s simplicity. Ferrier’s writing distils influences ranging from comedies to action to sci-fi into a singular story that, over five issues, has every beat without fail in order to tell a brilliant story. There’s been no grand twist that throws the events of the book into some new perspective, instead it eschews the modern need to shock the reader in favour of classic storytelling that satisfies the reader. That’s actually a keyword for this conclusion: satisfaction. I’m reminded of the finale to Breaking Bad in that both stories set up a number of plot points in the lead up to the finale and instead of pulling the rug out from under the audience, they both allowed those plot points to play out in a satisfactory manner.
Everything works just right in this issue from Ferrier’s comedic writing bringing levity to moments of tension to Valentin Ramon being let loose to bring the best action scenes this series has seen. While it would be rude to spoil it, I would be remiss in mentioning that the final act in D4VE’s uprising against the K’laar is the great That’s What You Get moment I’ve ever read. And it all boils down to the fact that you can feel on the page (or screen, I guess, seeing as this is a digital comic) how much fun the creators had in making this series. That translates to a comic that is a joy to read, even if it is bittersweet that it had to end.
It should be no surprise that MVP for “D4VE” has to go to Ramon Valentin. Valentin’s art is unchallenged in terms of worldbuilding as throughout each issue, he has created such a feeling for this 34RTH that feels both intimately familiar and completely different. That gives weight to Ferrier’s writing (yes, even the unbelievable amount of jokes regarding 5COTTY’s masturbation habits) as the world the story takes place in feels so unbelievably real. What that leads to is a feeling of why D4VE would want to save a world he seemed so unhappy in; because that world feels as tangible as ours and even in our darkest moments, wouldn’t we all want to protect the only world we have?
Even as short as this series was, only barely managing to be crammed into five issues and bursting at the seams with world building and character details, this should be a great contender for best of the year lists. Ferrier and Valentin took a story as simple as a man going back to his armed forces roots to protect what he loves from danger to new places thanks to the world they built to place that story in. Then, to top it off, they brought their best aspects to the story as Ryan Ferrier brought a sharp wit to the writing that feels like it is both playing straight and deconstructing the simplicity of its own story while Valentin Ramon seems to have a blast tearing down they world they built only to feel triumphant in showing D4VE defending it. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want more of this series and, in the end, that’s the highest compliment I could give it.
As this point it seems safe to say that Monkeybrain is the sleeper hit of the arms race of comics publishers. While Image is revitalising print and Marvel is doing its best to implement their strategies into their universe all the while DC tries to recapture the magic of the 90s, Monekybrain has been putting comics as good as “D4VE” without the fanfare they deserves. Well, this is the fanfare it deserves: at $0.99 an issue, this series combined would put you back the exact same and extra-sized print issue would and would give you five times the content. Don’t just take my word on how good “D4VE” is: trust the math.
Final Verdict 9.2 – A strong buy for the entire series. You don’t want to have missed this.
