Review: SECTION ZERO
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â Karl Kesel
Art:Â Tom Grummett
Colors: Jeremy Colwell
Letters:Â Jimmy Betacourt
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
The date is 2002. Sam Wildman is back with Section Zero. He has a hair cut. He used to be in a band. One of his bandmates is with him as they track down a gator person a swamp in North Carolina. Well really, they are there because they are searching for the ring of fire that swallowed Tina back in the 90s, before Sam cut his hair. It turns out that Sam’s bandmate can also read objects but it hurts him to do so. Sam, being such a great guy, forces his pal to do it and they find the Ring of fire. Also, apparently, it smells really bad there. Tesla gets knocked out. There is a giant monster worse than a gator monster. Chaos ensues.
Cut to November 2017, a family is having a fun time preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse, when four ghost soldiers show up and a conversation is had. Why? Good question.
Cut to Scotland, 2018. The Section Zero team summons Nessie. Why? Good question.
Positives
Section zero has, from the beginning, been really well drawn and colored. The covers have been beautiful and they are just nice to see. That is still the case here. The colors jump off the page. The characters are intricately drawn. Monsters seem real against the back drop. That last page of Nessie is stunning. Look at this cover of Tesla. It is beautiful. It makes you want to read it.
Monsters, monster and even more monsters. Section zero is all about the monsters. If you like that, this book has them in spades.
Negatives
The problem with Section Zero is that the story is broken through time for no good reason. The characters are not really well developed and boy, do they do a lot of talking. I am all for some old timey comic book exposition, but the art in this book is so good that some of the exposition should actually come visually.
Honestly, I don’t even really remember all the names any more. I don’t know if I should care what happens to Tina any more. She is on the cover, fighting a dinosaur, which is amazing, but she is, once again, fridged. It just does not work at all.
Verdict
Thankfully, this is the penultimate issue of Section Zero. We must assume all the random timelines will come together next month, Sam and Tina will be reunited and we may care. I am not sure if we will, but we can hope. In the meantime, there is some beautiful art work.
