Comic Vine Review

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Saucer Country #5 - Run, Conclusion

5

Dr Glass hypnotizes Governor Alvarado, who tapes the whole conversation. Can Arcadia keep what Dr Glass helps uncover a secret so it doesn't get released?

For those who've been missing out, here's a quick summation of what's been happening in this book: Governor of New Mexico Arcadia Alvarado has gaps in her timeline. She's come to the conclusion she and her ex-husband Michael were abducted by aliens. She's on the rise as the leading Democratic candidate for the President of the United States of America, and now she's going to be hypnotized to see what truly happened in this X-Files meets The West Wing comic.

The Good

Finally, we get to see what happened to Governor Alvarado when she was abducted. It's very emotional as the reader finds out what Arcadia went through that night. While reliving these horrifying moments, she has to lie to Dr Glass about what she's seeing, so this event doesn't get out to the public, and ruin her chances to become public.

I like the idea of this opposing force of people many in the public would consider crazy: Those who believe in the idea that aliens are constantly visiting us, essentially, conspiracy theorists. These are people who know the evidence is there and need it to validate their beliefs to the world, so they don't look crazy.

The issue has its ups and downs, but overall, it has the feel of an episode of West Wing or any adult drama on television. It's flows incredibly well, and Paul Cornell's story and writing is fantastic here, especially the final page of this issue which is a great set-up.

Ryan Kelly (art) and Giulia Bruso (colors) do a great job here and raise the bar for Vertigo art, which over the years, seems to have a similar style between a lot of their bigger books. Kelly does a wonderful job at setting up scenes and locations. There's tons of background information for the reader to pick up on that really sets the scene of this book. I really enjoyed Bruso's colors during the spaceship scenes in this issue. It gives the scenes an eerie feel.

The Bad

I've heard a few people say this book is a bit talky and can be slow. I feel that while there is a lot of dialogue, which can slow the book down, it truly fits the world and feeling Paul has set up here.

The Verdict

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm a huge fan of this series. This is a highly under-rated book, and it's a great concept. I love watching the abduction scenes play out here, and I love that the idea of good and evil here is played out between the Governor and her team against conspiracy theorists. The art here is great and the colors set up an eerie tone during the spaceship scenes.

Overall, I highly recommend this book and series. It's out of this world... Yes, I totally just wrote that without cringing.