Descender Volume 1: Tin Stars

by Jeff Lemire

[inlibrisveritas]

Descender is the story of a young robot boy, TIM-21, and his struggle to live in a universe that wants him dead. The universe used to be filled with androids co-existing with their creators until one showed up and caused the destruction of thousands.

This was my first Lemire book that I had picked up (though the second I’ve reviewed) and it was a fantastic first impression! The story itself has a really heartfelt storyline following the adorable TIM and a varied host of side characters. TIM, Dr. Quon, and Telsa are such different personalities on the page, and with their different roles on society, we get a bit more of a complete picture of the history and current events as the story moves forward. There is plenty of action and some great world building to be had as well. I seriously love sci-fi stories that have a bit of “ancient” mystery in them, it’s the icing on the cake for me.

The artwork is a perfect match for the story as well. It’s rendered in beautiful watercolors that are such a treat after reading so many comics with hard lines and saturated colors. I love the use of the grey and beige gradients for the flashback sections, which made it very obvious about the shift in the narrative without it having to be stated continuously.

I’m excited to continue this series and see what Lemire has in store for TIM-21.