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Writer Deniz Camp has been setting up the new threat of the White Martians since the second issue of the book, but takes it into high gear with the latest issue. The book revolves around the White Martians using the sun itself as a weapon, as a heat wave causes tempers to flare across Middleton. Camp does a great job of setting up the various conflicts that the White Martian has flared up, presenting readers with little moments of city life out of control. Each little vignette is perfect, but the book has been doing things like this since it started. However, Camp isn’t done there, as he finally takes a look at the Jones family, specifically the dissolution of the marriage of John and Bridget. John has been sneaking out to deal with the White Martians, his marriage suffering from his tendency to overwork and disappear. It all comes to a head in this issue, and it gives the book the emotional core that it’s been missing since the beginning.
As cool as the various conflicts are, it’s this one that is the most poignant. We see all of the problems written on Bridget’s face from the first moment she appears in the issue, and as it goes on, the marital gulf keeps extending, growing into a chasm that neither of them can bridge. It’s presented with a heart-wrenching beauty, and much like the violence that has gripped the city during the White Martian influenced heatwave, the whole thing explodes. This is brilliant character work, and Camp is able to put readers directly into the marriage. There’s so much emotion in this section of the book. The fight between the two of them is the heart of the issue, and it’s done so very well. Camp built this moment up throughout the issue, and when he hits readers with it, it’s unexpected despite being telegraphed from the beginning. This is bravura storytelling, and it shows the promise this book has had ever since it began.
