MECH CADETS #1, from BOOM! Studios on 8/9/23, begins a tale of mech pilots returning home after staving off an alien invasion. Can the team hold their hero reputation when military command favors obedience over doing the right thing?
The Details
- Written by: Greg Pak
- Art by: Takeshi Miyazawa
- Colors by: Ian Herring
- Letters by: Simon Bowland
- Cover art by: Takeshi Miyazawa, Ian Herring
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: August 9, 2023
Is It Good?
MECH CADETS #1 begins the latest sci-fi adventure from Greg Pak and BOOM! Studios about a team of acclaimed mech pilots who struggle just as much with the demands of their military leaders as the aliens they’ve sworn to defeat in protecting Earth. Filled with mech action, YA-ish drama, and solid visuals, you can easily see why this series pairs with a forthcoming animated Netflix series. That said, this first issue isn’t quite a winner.
Pak’s script centers on Olivia Park and her mech-piloting teammates when they return to a recently restored mech training facility after successfully rebuffing a Sharg alien invasion. Olivia has a reputation for disobeying orders when the situation calls for it, leading to growing tension between her and her commanders, including her father, General Park. When the team is assigned to stop supermarket looters(?), Olivia’s habit of disobeying orders spells trouble for her and the team in the next mission.
What’s great about this issue? Greg Pak appears to be going for a YA vibe with this story, and he mostly nails it. The team is capable, each pilot has a distinctive personality, which serves well in combat, and the second mission in Mars orbit opens up a ton of intriguing questions for the next issue.
What’s not so great about this issue? Olivia and the team’s relationship with military command is silly to the point of disbelief. It appears Pak is trying to create a metaphorical layer between the team and military command by painting the leaders as strict parents, favoring rules and obedience above all. But the overbearing commanders come off as unrealistic and cartoonishly one-dimensional when they place the mech team in situations where they either don’t belong or where a fight is almost guaranteed after being given orders not to fight.
Why would you send an advanced mech team to stop a supermarket looting in the middle of a flood disaster? Is military command expecting the mechs to use high-powered weaponry to stop a starving mother from stealing bread?
Why would you send an advanced mech team to Mars to investigate another team’s disappearance and then get mad when the team doesn’t abandon the second group during an alien attack?
Pak’s portrayal of military command would only work if strict adherence to orders belies a bigger picture or greater strategy the mech team can’t see at the moment. For example, stop the looters because the food is contaminated with alien radiation. Instead, you get military commanders who are unrealistic and unreasonable, making the dramatic tension for Olivia feel manufactured.
How’s the art? Takeshi Miyazawa is fine. The characters’ designs and acting are solid, the alien designs look interesting, and the action is solid. Miyazawa’s line work could use some tightening, and the mech designs lack pop, but overall, the art is good.
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]
We begin with the fly-in arrival of Supra-Robo Hero Force Two, led by Olivia Park. The team makes a splashy landing, to the chagrin of Olivia’s father, Genaral Park. The team greets their parents and new cadets at the recently restored Sky Corps Academy.
Olivia has a reputation for disobeying orders when the situation calls for it, but her father is proud of her success. However, he urges her to prioritize following orders. Soon, Olivia has a chance to take her father’s advice when the team is sent out to quell looting at a supermarket in the middle of a flood. The looters are taking food that would spoil due to a power outage, so Olivia makes the call to organize the food distribution rather than send everyone away. Olivia’s choice costs her leadership of the team.
We conclude the issue with a new mission to Mars, an attack, a rescue, and a new ally.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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MECH CADETS #1 begins a new sci-fi adventure about a team of mech pilots who spend time battling alien invaders and their stuffy military commanders. The characters’ personalities and designs are memorable, and the cliffhanger is intriguing, but Olivia’s dramatic conflict with military command is contrived to the point of silliness, and the art needs a little more spit and polish.
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