Welcome to a brand new edition of Parlay Points, the comic book review blog for the ODPH Podcast!

For this entry, we’re jumping back into a very unique story coming out on the Comixology Originals line. If you’re a long-time reader of this blog, this next statement is going to sound very familiar. If you’re a new reader to Parlay Points (or checking this blog out via Nerd Initiative), the Comixology Originals line of books is one of the best on the comic market today. New Comic Book Day also means hitting the digital shelves to see what’s new from this line, and if you’re a die-hard for physical copies, there are quite a few titles that are released in print form via Dark Horse Comics at a later date.

That said, one of the latest series on the CO line is a sci-fi horror epic that is really catching readers attention heading to the halfway point. RETROVERSE #3 by Cullen Bunn, John Bivens and Anna Peterson kicks off peeling back the layers of the mystery surrounding a teenager lost in time and losing hope quickly. Let’s check out what’s unfolding in this chapter, shall we?

RETROVERSE #3 - On sale February 14th
Creative: Cullen Bunn, John Bivens and Anna Peterson
Credit: Comixology Originals

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

The story of Retroverse centers around Kacy Martin, a 19-year old woman who wakes up after a long night of partying to find the world she knew has changed. A great deal of time has passed. Her boyfriend T.J. and best friend Krissy don’t recognize her. The home she knew is gone. Fear starts growing as Kacy returns to school where she’s attacked by some type of monster, and has now turned herself into a type of creature as well to fight back. Once the monster is dealt with, Kacy escapes to find Krissy, only to have an emotional bombshell dropped on her: Kacy died when she was six years old and has been dead for 13 years!

With more monsters coming, Kacy continues to fight in an unknown world. After briefly running into a strange figure with a cryptic message, another monster appears with some answers to what is going on here.

This issue opens up with Kacy and Krissy asking questions to the crab-esque creature. Unfortunately, there is a language issue until Kacy changes into her bone creature mutant form. Only in this state does she start getting answers. The creature divulges that Kacy was only meant to be an experiment when they fund her at the party. It explains how they are being hunted by the “Patchwork Man” and Kacy was selected to be a weapon to defend them if she survived. However, when they were attacked, Kacy was sent to the wrong reality to survive.

From here, Kacy demands to be returned home and wants nothing to do with the creatures and their war. She returns with the crab monster to its’ spaceship and soon finds out the world she once knew has changed forever! Readers sit back and watch how Kacy’s return trip proves to be more than she bargained for. From here, the question becomes what does Kacy do now? A choice is made that sets the course for more danger to come but does Kacy have another option? The final act holds nothing back as Kacy comes to grips with what her life has now become and readers get ready for the next phase in this evolving tale.

Bunn keeps readers guessing with the reveal behind Kacy’s transformation this issue. Kacy has always had an outsider approach to her pre-transformation but after the reveal, her emotions just pour out as she’s truly lost without a cause. Kacy’ anger towards the situation s completely understandable and only gets worse as she tries figuring out what’s next. Seeing ho cold (for lack of a better term) the creatures were concerning Kacy was another factor that jumped out. This issue moved pretty quickly and didn’t dwell too long on its’ big moments. The final portion of this book sets a solid direction heading towards its’ conclusion with much uncertainty hovering around the main character.

Bivens establishes how Kacy is processing the news behind her “new life”. Her reactions drive home the anger and frustration of how things have played out. Seeing the “Patchwork Man” on the full page panel connects with readers on how different this character is, more so than what we saw in issue #2. The time/reality traveling Kacy and the creature did also jumps out. When she returns “home”, the panels involved illustrate just how much has changed in what feels to Kacy as a short amount of time. The parting visuals cap off the new “stat quo” heading into the story’s next phase.

FINAL POINT: Retroverse #3 slowly peels back the mystery surrounding Kacy’s disappearance while keeping readers guessing at what’s next. Bunn, Bivens, and Peterson keep a steady pace with first-rate writing and illustrations. The mystery is still unfolding so if you haven’t checked this book out yet on Comixology, don’t wait any longer.

Hit me up on ODPH social media and let me know what you thought of Retroverse #3. Thanks for reading!

RETROVERSE #3 (COMIXOLOGY ORIGINALS)

Ken M