Mech Cadet Yu is published by BOOM! Studios. It is written by Greg Pak with art by Takeshi Miyazawa and colors by Triona Farrell.
As I have come to expect from Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Triona Farrell, we are given another exciting issue of Mech Cadet Yu. Now, there is a lot going on in this issue, but that’s because a lot of things are falling in to place as we reach the climax of our story. Corruption, politics, murder (yes, I consider removing the heart of a sweet and innocent Robo murder), and the killer, mutant-bug, alien Sharg with Mothership in tow, approaching fast. Yu and his group along with Captain Tanaka have taken off without permission to cut off the Sharg and defeat them before even more damage can be done to Earth, meanwhile, Engineer Chief Max, with the help of Yu’s mother, are taking back control of the base to prevent any more Robos being killed.
Seriously. I was SO upset when they killed Schatz’s Robo. He was so happy, they had just finished their work and BOOM! General Park gives the order to remove it’s mechanical heart. I felt an emotional attachment to these robots, more so than I have for many of the troops. Cadet Park is really starting to frustrate me too. That unwavering allegiance to her father who is making horrible decisions. She watched them kill that Robo, she helped the other Cadets escape, and yet she continues to believe everything he says and follow orders without question. Yeah, I get it, she probably had a pretty crappy childhood and is probably pretty brainwashed…but I still want to smack her. I also still don’t trust that she has full control of her man-made Robo. People like General Park always make sure they have the ability to manipulate and maintain control of people and things.
Chief Max was my favorite part of this issue. She is such a boss. She’s an engineer so she’s a thinker. She always has a plan even if its not totally worked out, she’s clever enough to make it happen regardless. She didn’t know for certain Yu’s mom was going to aid them, but she also prepared her Robo for something simply by muttering “until I say when”. She didn’t know how she would do it, but she knew she would. Why? Because she’s a boss. Unlike General Park, Chief Max is someone you would want calling the shots.
Takeshi Miyazawa continues to supply us with fabulous art that I still think has this mix of comic and manga style, which I love. Triona Farrell’s colors take on a new environment flawlessly. On Earth and even in Central Command, things are more vibrant, but out in space there is this layer of deep blue that lightly tints everything…that and the super bright purple blasters from the Sharg Mothership that cover everything in purple.
OVERALL SCORE: 8.5 / 10
A bit of a hectic issue, but still enthralling. Mech Cadet Yu continues to be my favorite all ages comic (and by all ages I mean 9 years and up).
