Dawn Runner #3 is The Next Best Thing
Story by Ram V Art by Evan Cagle
From Dark Horse Comics
If you asked me for THE most exciting comic currently on shelves, my answer would easily be Dawn Runner from Dark Horse Comics and prolific writer, Ram V- and I would have said that before this most recent issue even came out.
I don’t pretend to know what Dark Horse’ plans are with the series, but we are only 3 issues in and I can already imagine an entire, multi-year universe with many writers and artists exploring this vast, alluring world, with specific, complex characters and giant robots with various technical abilities and capitalist motivations, all which span centuries. Which is surprising to me, because I would say that I typically roll my eyes at the careless over saturation of a lot of properties in film, television, and other media and prefer stories to be contained to a deliberate vision.
If you haven’t been following the series thus far then allow me to give you some quick insight into the stories conceit. Dawn Runner is set in a far future Earth, finally recovering from a generational battle with the Tetza- an alien species that simply appeared one day through a temporal rift above South America. With the technical innovation of the Iron Kings, piloted, mechanized fighting machines, humanity has managed to push back against these mystifying alien invaders, going so far as to televise bouts with the creatures as evening entertainment. However, the latest model of Iron King, the Dawn Runner, proves to be more than just machine, which sparks a series of questions that threaten to unravel the delicate balance of nature.
As I said, Dawn Runner has all the makings of a profound, unique, thrilling series that you do not want to miss. I hate to use this phrase, but I mean if any book has “staying power” in regard to grandiose, dense world building, it is this book. Another huge highlight I would be remiss not to mention, the artwork from Evan Cagle- continues to astound and memorize, it feels like we are witnessing something truly special and career defining.
Let’s delve into Issue #3 now, which means-
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Issue #3 opens with our Dawn Runner pilot Anita Marr communicating with the consciousness installed into her Dawn Runner mech, a man named Ichi, as she continues to watch him journey across the wasteland of an early Tetza attack with his traumatized children Ken and Mae. Yeah, I’m telling you this story is wild.
This opening offers some crucial insight into this relationship for the first time in the series. Previously, it has felt like Ichi was more of a ghost-like entity stuck in a loop or program for Anita to observe- but now we see Ichi and Anita talking to one another and giving each other insight into themselves and the future. Ichi asks Anita if the Tetza have been defeated in the future and Anita has to tell him, “Nah, but we like- we like… made a show about ‘em. Like a WWE style exhibition type thing. It’s badass.”
In their first interaction, Anita is pulled out early by the Linguistics Coordinator because the machine was starting to merge the identity of both her and Ichi which is incredibly dangerous. Meanwhile, we see that Anita’s investigation into the Dawn Runner are being observed by Andro, head of the Cordon corporation, who surprisingly encourages Anita’s rogue actions, believing that it can only improve the performance of the machine.
In the next bout- we see one of the other corporations Iron Kings in action for the first time, Bastion’s “Molotok”- a large, stalky, red hulking machine compared to the sleek, agile Dawn Runner model. The pilot of the Molotok shows off against the Tetza, nicknamed “Jawline,” until his showboating goes too far and is nearly pinned down by the alien beast. Luckily, the DawnRunner is able to step in and brutally murder Jawline, further proving Andro’s theory that Anita and Ichi’s communion sessions are actually improving the performance of pilot and machine.
In Anita and Ichi’s next conversation, they discuss Anita’s daughter who she has seemed hesitant to discuss. However, she opens up to Ichi, explaining that her daughter is sick with an alien disease after exposure to the Tetza and isn’t allowed many visits.
As Anita awakes in the real world, confused as to what day it even is, she is confronted with the horrific news that her daughter, Ana, is in critical condition. Anita races to visit her and laments with her partner that all of her endeavors as an Iron Knight Pilot have been for her daughter and she isn’t sure who she would be without her.
This touching moment is interrupted by an emergency call from Cordon as the linguistics team has finally been able to decipher communication from the Tetza for the first time since their inception. A call, a summoning, asking their kind for aid. The final page leaves us with only a tease of what’s to come with a disturbing shape emerging from the rift, and the looming sense of dread.
The story of DawnRunner is still taking shape with only glimpses and clues as to the developing characters and the nature of the titular Iron King and its human hybrid brain- but it is written so deftly and enticingly with some of the coolest, striking imagery in modern comics.
Please help make this series as influential as I know it can be and support your local comic book store by grabbing DawnRunner issue #3 on shelves now!
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
