Rating: 4/5
Descender opens with a moment of terror. Gigantic robots, larger than a planet, appear out of nowhere. There is one for each major planet within the United Galactic Council (UGC). They attack without warning and then disappear. From there, the story fast forwards ten years. During that time, practically every robot that can be found has been destroyed, often for sport in gladiator type arenas.
There are two storylines that intertwine. The first follows Dr. Jin Quon, the most advanced robotics expert in the UGC. The other is about a robot named Tim-21, who is designed to look like a boy and act as a companion to human children. Tim has been offline for the past ten years, and recently awakened to discover that everyone in his colony was killed in a mining accident. When Dr. Quon learns about Tim's existence, he enters into a race to reach Tim before anyone that would wish him harm.
A number of other characters appear, some briefly and some throughout, but each one adds life to the story. Bandit and Driller are two other robots from the same colony as Time, which add some comic relief. Telsa and Tullis are members of the UGC traveling with Dr. Quon to track down Tim. There are even people known as Scrappers, basically bounty hunters that target robots, joining the search for Tim. What happens when these groups come together is not like any of them expected.
I enjoyed the story, but the art is what made it great. The images themselves are beautiful. The technique used here is interesting because it is not as glossy or polished as many graphic novels are, but that gives it more character rather than detracting from the work. There are a lot of contrasting colors, which is used to a nice effect.
This was listed for mature readers, but I think teens would be fine with it. There is some violence and profanity though.
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