Image Comics; $3.99 

As I mentioned in my review of the previous issue, it was a long wait between the end of the first arc in Rook: Exodus #6 and this new one in #7, but it was definitely worth the wait. Rook: Exodus #8 finds creators Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok with their feet firmly planted on the accelerator. 

First and foremost, one of the great things about this series is that actual science fiction is actually occurring. It’s been correctly pointed out in numerous circles, including here in Scoop/Overstreet Access, that many comics start out with the pretense of science fiction and quickly devolve into superhero stories. This issue adds some pretty creepy horror-suspense elements, but the science fiction scenario behind the series remains firmly in place. 

Rook and fellow warden Dire Wolf search for Bloodhound, Dire Wolf’s father and perhaps the only warden left on Exodus who can help salvage the failed world engine and save their lives. If it were only that simple, it might have been a single-issue story, but there are complications galore, and those complications make for some excellent reading. 

John, Fabok, and colorist Brad Anderson have created a world that seems real, populated it with interesting characters, and set off a chain of events that keep the reader turning the page.  

– J.C. Vaughn