REVIEW: ‘Lunar Room’, Issue #4

Described as “a wild new sci-fi-fantasy-noir hybrid series,” Lunar Room is an ongoing comic book published by Vault Comics. Lunar Room #4 has a story penned by Danny Lore and with art by Gio Sposito, colorist DJ Chavis, letterer Andworld, and designer Tim Daniel, who rounds out the talent for this comic book series. Cynthia “Sin” Breaker is a woman just struggling to make it, a former shell of herself, a powerful werewolf who once dealt with violence as her main job. A chance encounter with a young mage named Zero means they hold a mythological ancient weapon that has ties to power everyone desires. Lunar Room #4 shows us Sin and Zero facing the truth about each other, with all the ugliness attached.

This fourth issue reveals a narrative where family loyalty and obligation converge. Zero brings the 50-11’s (or the 50-11 Mutts as mockingly used by an opposing gang that ended up losing a turf war) and they massacre the muscle Zero’s twin brother brought from The Knowing. The two twin mages go at it throwing jabs as well as insults as Barkboi, once Sin’s right hand man in the pack of the news. Under this direction, the pack is turning her, their old pack leader into Gloria’s hands: the true evil, the magical kingpin of this place that everyone fears, for good reason.

All of Solar City answers to someone more powerful to them and everyone’s got a cost. Family used to mean so much to Sin, her pack used to mean so much to her but now she’s about to be betrayed. On the other hand, Axton and Zero aren’t better for this sibling reunion. They don’t see eye to eye and they still can’t agree on anything. As a reader I can see how both Sin and Zero’s current paths parallel each other a lot: family has failed them both and they too, have failed to step up for those that they call family. This is a sobering truth in the turn of events that have brought us to this fourth issue of Lunar Room where death and blood are currencies being paid. Sin is someone who has to relearn her place in the pecking order. Zero is someone who has left a place of safety and luxury to uncertainties and chaos. Both of them have been struggling to survive and now together as a team, all their secrets are coming out to their detriment.

On the artwork side, the action scenes in Lunar Room #4 remain consistent, colorful, and explosive keeping in rhythm with the previous issues which I really appreciated. A bloody execution and its aftermath stood out as pages paced very well in this issue which left me struggling to recover for the bigger fight towards the end of the issue. Chavis worked wonders making the bloody scenes worth their weight in gold making sure the tone of the scenes worked perfected with the tone whether it was a defeated character on the page or a dead one.

Andworld’s lettering really brings home the emotion of several pages, especially the pages of big revelations and quiet reflections. Sposito’s artwork continues to be a great vehicle for world-building here. I could wax poetically about the big brawny fight scenes all day but the quieter panels like the glimpses of more non-human residents big and small and Angie’s flashbacks are really the connective tissue that helps make this issue a visual treat that I couldn’t wait to reread.

Lunar Room #4 ended on such an explosive note that made the wait totally worth it to read it and review it once again. This latest issue pushed the comic into stellar territory with a narrative and artwork that keeps me confident I’ll keep anticipating all future issues. I’ve noted before that Lunar Room has surprises around every corner and never fails to keep me on my toes with this unraveling narrative about morality’s gray and black areas. As a writer, Lore has continued to captivate me with such a thrilling comic with characters all managing to etch a place out for themselves with power, danger and magic rising in the background.

Lunar Room #4 is available now wherever comics are sold.