CARRIERS #5, from Red 5 Comics on May 4th, 2022, brings the flock together to stop an alien invasion from destroying the world economy with a techno-virus.
The Details
- Written By: Ben Ferrari, Erica Heflin, Jay Huwer
- Art By: Federico Guillen
- Colors By: Seb Valencia
- Letters By: Seb Valencia
- Cover Art By: Federico Guillen (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: May 4, 2022
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Was It Good?
CARRIERS #5 ends the series the way it began – strangely. Carriers has the unique distinction of being one of the few titles that chooses to have a new art team in every issue. Not every arc, every individual issue. The results, as you might expect, are wildly inconsistent art from one issue to the next. Issue #5 is no exception. Just like the art, the writers carry this team of avian defenders through one issue to the next WITHOUT connecting what happens in one issue to the next, sometimes leaving whole plot points or conflicts unresolved.
For example, issue #4 tracked a growing (possibly deadly) rivalry between the Carriers and a team of Owls who have no objection to killing. The Owls are referenced in the prologue page in this issue, but they don’t appear, are never referenced, and presumably won’t come up again since this is the finale. What was the point of developing a rival with the potential to be a threat when there was no intention of using that conflict? Again, this is a strange series.
The plot in this issue surrounds a meteor shower over NYC that masks tech-based probes of alien origin. When the Carriers moved to investigate, they find the probes have adaptable abilities and historical knowledge of Earth for reasons we won’t spoil here. The setup is interesting and staged well since the probes are small enough to go unnoticed (unless you’re a carrier pigeon), but there are a few points that make this story strange.
The Carriers are stalked by a “ninja bird” with no explanation as to who it wants, what it wants, or why. Dark Dove notices some familiar, Earth-based components to the alien probes, but the pieces he notices don’t make sense since the Earth-based tech is far newer than the source the aliens adopted.
At the very least, the art is serviceable to good in this issue. Valencia’s lettering earns the top spot for the creative use of word balloon borders to keep the dialog straight between multiple talking birds.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
If you’re curious about the Owls, first read our CARRIERS #4 review.
We begin with an exciting afternoon in the Big Apple as an expected meteor shower lights up the sky. Dark Dove notices something isn’t right as a few of the meteors appear to change course on the way down. When he alerts his fellow Carriers, they investigate to find three metallic probes of unknown origin have entered the atmosphere.
The Carriers find the probes scanning the city from on high, and when the groups meet, the probes determine the Carriers are no threat. Gladius takes the initiative and attacks one of the probes, sending the alien devices into attack mode. The Carriers hold their own and even manage to destroy one of the probes. Unfortunately, the probes are able to heal, mutate, and evolve into deadlier versions of themselves.
Dark Dove recovers a piece of the first probe to decrypt its probing in the hopes of finding a weakness. He soon learns the code language bears a striking resemblance to Russian and may be an adaptation of an older space probe lost to the void. We conclude the issue with ninja attacks (?), USB ports, and “I Am Iron Carrier”.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
CARRIERS #5 is a strange way to end a strange series. The art is decent enough, and the general adventure is serviceable enough. Yet, the lack of consistency in art between issues, and the overall lack of completion on a myriad of plot threads, make the entire series chaotic and confusing.
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