The Good
Luke heads to the military base to find Amelia and his newborn; however, the possibly soon-to-be Vice President wants Amelia taken care of and he wants the Tattooed Clone to take her out. Meanwhile, Beta finds out where Luke's parents are hiding at.
As first, the idea of there being some clones with different traits, like Beta and Gamma, seemed a little gimmicky, but I've really come to embrace the characters as the series has gone on. I really like Gamma, which is a cloned version of Luke that resembles the physicality and mentality of Stephen Hawking. At the same time, I love Beta, the genetically superior clone, who is a walking/talking sociopath with no remorse when it comes to killing. He is the perfect soldier, in a sense. The same goes for the Tattooed Clone. He comes off as tough and emotionless, but there's a heart of gold in there, and I find myself fascinated with everything about him.
This book reads like a great, action-packed, television series, which is fitting since it was announced CLONE was picked up by NBU as part of a development deal for television. It hits beats like a television show and each issue feels like a 30 minute episode. The pacing here is pretty intense as we follow different story lines: Amelia, Luke, Beta, and Gamma. It's truly a thrilling read.
Once again, Juan Jose Ryp blows me away with his art. Aside from the fact, which I mention every month, I'm stunned with the amount of detail he puts into every issue, I love his page set-ups and how his action sequences come off an genuinely shocking. We know the violence is coming, but when you see it, it's a surprise. Ryp shows movement extremely well, and it fits the writing wonderfully.
The Bad
I hate the term "POTUS.," which is used in this issue. Some people use it and others just say "The President." It's just one of those terms that drives me nuts. Now, the person who says "POTUS" has been in almost every issue, but I can only find one place (issue 4, I think) where they actually say his name. It's pretty frustrating. I don't know what to call this guy.
Again, I'm not the biggest fan of the dot shading that Ryp does on this issue. There are certain times when it really distracts from the art.
I'm also not too keen on the font used for Gamma's speech. It's a tad tough to read, and I found myself doing a bit of squinting to read it.
The Verdict
Man, I love CLONE. This is one of my favorite month-to-month series that I read. It's an interesting story. It's written well. The art is amazing. Month after month, this book delivers. This issue is filled with action and some interesting plots. I find myself enjoying these other cloned characters, including Gamma and Beta, as well as the Tattooed Clone. My biggest problem with the book is that CLONE tends to rarely tell you the names of the characters within the book. While playing the "name game" is insanely annoying, especially when the writer has a character say it over and over, this is the opposite. Aside from that, CLONE is a book you should be reading.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
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