Cover Art for Escape #8
Written by Rick Remender
Art and Colors by Daniel Acuña
Letters by Rus Wooten
Cover Art by Daniel Acuña
Few comics have captivated me this past year like the tale of Milton Shaw in Rick Remender’s Escape. What I thought was going to be just another simple war story has turned into one of my favorite current ongoing series, and with some killer art to match, there are very few books that can touch this in the current market. Escape #8 takes place in the immediate aftermath of Milton taking out the Narenian’s Titan cannon and the dire consequences that follow. It’s emotional, gut-wrenching, and shows that Milton’s “escape” is far from over. I’m so excited to get into this one. Spoiler Warning Now In Effect for Escape #8.
Recap of the Issue
Soon after the destruction of the Titan cannon in the middle of the Narenian military base, Milton is on the run with his resistance ally, Anders Muller. Before we get to Milton and Anders, though, the issue begins with the Narenian military general being shown the body of his son, the major, who died trying to protect the Titan cannon from Milton’s attack. The general looks somberly upon his son’s body, tells him some final words, and moves off to interrogate the prisoners of war obtained during the resistance attack on the base. The general doesn’t mess around with the prisoners and quickly shoots one in the head when he doesn’t get the answers he wants. When one prisoner almost breaks, another kills him in cold blood before being taken away to meet some horrible fate. The general will not be denied his son's killer and damn anyone who tries to stop him.
We rejoin Milton and Anders as they are hiding out in an old, bombed-out war factory, currently the home base of the Narenian resistance. Milton’s wounds aren’t looking good, and the base’s doctor remarks that he’s seen corpses in better condition than Milton is currently in. The leader of the Resistance, Freidrich, bursts into the building and demands to see Anders for an update on the situation. Friedrich is Anders’ brother, and he is extremely exasperated to find out about the mission his brother took the resistance forces on in his absence. Friedrich doesn’t even seem to care that Milton destroyed the Titan cannon because Milton isn’t one of them. He isn’t Narenian, and while yes, the evil regime has suffered a massive blow, Milton’s allies won't see the difference between them and the regime. They’re all just evil Narenians to them, and now they’re all open to attack with the Titan cannon of the regime, now destroyed.
While Friedrich and Anders continue to argue about the merits of what has been done, Milton takes an opportunity to leave the main room and find a radio so he can communicate with his allies back home. He finds one in another part of the building and tells his allies of the Titan canon’s destruction. They tell Milton he has 12 hours to make it out of the city and to the coast for extraction. A feat that is going to be very hard for him to accomplish. No sooner does he receive his order than he has a gun aimed at the back of his skull. Friedrich believes Milton means to kill them all and refuses to believe he’s actually there in any of their best interests. That’s when the explosion happens.
The Narenian military has found the resistance base and engages in an all-out assault on it. Anders, his son, and Milton escape towards the basement, where a tunnel awaits that leads out of the factory and out to a canal where the group can continue their escape. Before they can make their way into the tunnel, though, they are attacked one more time by Anders’ brother Friedrich. Friedrich is convinced Milton led the Narenian army to their doorstep and swings an axe that takes a chunk out of Milton’s ear. Friedrich and Milton brawl, and when it looks like Friedrich is about to kill him, Anders shoots him in the chest, killing his own brother. The issue ends as Anders tells Milton he trusts him and how he hopes that doesn’t make him a fool.
Thoughts on the Issue
This creative team just doesn’t understand what a bad issue is, do they? I’m pleased to say I have yet another glowing recommendation to give in what has been just a home run issue after home run issue. The narrative Remender has been crafting just seems to get better and better, and combine that with Daniel Acuña’s emotional and shadow-y art… these two just keep making magic together. This book is at the top of my list every month, and issue eight easily lives up to the hype that each consecutive issue has been building.
So let’s get into the specifics. The character moments, especially ones that permeate anger and hate, are prominent in issue #8 and are a huge part of what makes this issue so compelling to me. The Narenian General has been a thorn in the side of Milton over the course of his mission and as we know now, to Anders as well since he played a role in the (most likely) death of his wife and other child. He is an undoubtedly cruel being, and although he doesn’t shed a tear for his deceased son, his emotions explode in other ways.
The General doesn’t seem to be one who ever shows a sign of weakness, so he demands the captives tell him where “the butcher who killed his son” is. When he doesn’t hear what he wants, he has no problem killing someone in cold blood. The General doesn’t allow himself to take any time to properly grieve; he channels his feelings into rage and anger at his enemies and seeks to unleash hell upon them for the death of his son. I’m eager to see how his role keeps developing over the course of the story.
Friedrich and Anders’ relationship is the biggest driving factor of this eighth issue, and the brothers provide some of the issue's biggest moments. From the moment Friedrich arrives on the scene, he is immediately enraged that Anders would cost the resistance in so many ways just to free this man who has no idea whom he can even trust. Friedrich even cuts the proverbial knife as deeply as he can when he, in not so many words, yells at Anders that his wife and daughter are dead and that his wife did a much better job of understanding the mission than he did. It’s an emotional read for sure. Friedrich’s rage doesn't just stop with Anders though as he feels nothing but anger towards Milton as well.
Freidrich believes that the deeds of Milton’s country and his own killings of Narenians during the war refute any good he’s tried to do. Not even hearing the news about the Titan cannon’s destruction can dissuade Freidrich. His anger and his rage are too great. This continues throughout the length of the issue as Friedrich will confront Milton in the radio room and finally right before the escape tunnel in the basement of the factory. Each time Friedrich allows his rage to take over and doesn’t give Milton any sort of actual opportunity to explain himself. In the end, his rage does him in, and his own brother takes him out before he ends Milton’s life. These themes of anger and hate made issue #8 very interesting to analyze.
The art is once again a huge highlight of this book. Daniel Acuña is now a name that means I must auto-buy a book if I see it on the cover. I don’t know if any current comic artist is as good at conveying emotion as Acuña is with his art. Whether it’s Milton, the General, Anders, Freidrich or random soldier #5, the expressiveness on their faces is always on point. Anger, sadness, pain… These come through in spades for the characters in this issue. I’ve mentioned this point before in other reviews, but I just want to keep harping on this facet of Acuña’s art. It continues to be a prominent and key reason why this book keeps getting high ratings month in and month out.
Lastly, I want to touch on Acuña’s environments and settings. Rarely do his backgrounds ever resemble just a bunch of random-looking buildings. Smoke fills the scene, and flames give the opening scene in the military base an eerie feel. The factory that houses the resistance isn’t some grand location but a dilapidated, busted building that houses what remains of the Narenians who care enough to make a difference. The entire assault on the resistance base with bullets, explosions, and people dying looks visually insane and is another feather in Acuña’s cap.
Escape #8 follows up on the destruction of the Titan cannon with an issue that highlights how rage and fear permeate through different individuals throughout a warzone. Remender’s narrative and Acuña’s art are once again top-notch, and this duo might just be the best in a current ongoing series. If you aren’t reading Escape, now’s the time to get caught up.
RATING: 9.5/10