Review: The Omega Men #7

Written by Tom King

Art by Barnaby Bagenda, Ig Guara, and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

The Omega Men are back and ready to kick off their second arc. Things are a little different now this time around, though, as Kyle Rayner is the focus of the story. He is trapped on a world with Princess Kalista, the secret leader of the Omega Men, and must find a way home. Unfortunately, everyone on the planet is out to capture or kill both of them because of the big events from the last issue. What follows is a very smart, well paced issue that really sheds some light on Kyle Rayner, letting you know exactly what he really thinks about all of the craziness that has been happening to him these past few months.

The Good

The thing about this series that I love the most is that it doesn’t hold the reader’s hand, guiding them to every single thing that happens. Tom King has some respect for the reader’s ability to figure things out and doesn’t come straight out and tell you what every character is thinking all of the time. He tells you only the bits you need to know, then lets Bagenda’s simple, yet fantastic art tell you the rest. In fact, Bagenda’s art does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to telling this story. His deceptively simple nine panel layouts convey a real sense of progression, focus, and emotion necessary to convey the subtext of what is going on below the surface of these scenes way more than an obtrusive thought panel ever could. It also helps that the facial work here is some of the strongest in comics today. This book could not work at all in the hands of a lesser artist and the fact that it works as well as it does is a testament to Bagenda’s skill.

If there has been one weakness to this book so far, it has been that Kyle Rayner, a character that is supposedly central to the plot, has been mostly sidelined during the first arc. Luckily that changes with this issue. Rayner is no longer the vaguely hinted about prisoner and is now the front and center leading man of this issue. He proves to be smart, cunning, very resourceful, and has an edge to him that I don’t think the character has ever had before. Hopefully this trend continues in further issues because I could read a book starring this version of Kyle Rayner for a long time.

The Bad

While this issue does wonders for Kyle Rayner and Princess Kalista in terms of character development and plot progression, unfortunately the rest of The Omega Men are left by the wayside. It’s honestly not that big of a problem, especially when an issue is as great as this one is, but it still would have been nice to see the whole crew a bit more.

The Verdict

The Omega Men continues to impress as it begins its second arc. Kyle Rayner becomes much more of a presence in the book. The Omega Men is still a smart, funny, and thrilling story with some fantastic art. There is a reason why this book is on so many best of lists for this year and you would be a fool to not check it out. Oh, and when will DC every give Tom King a Green Lantern book? That just seems like a match made in heaven.

Story: 4.5 out of 5

Art: 4.5 out of 5

Overall: 4.5 out of 5