THE VISITOR #5 – An Honest Review

In THE VISITOR #5, available from Valiant Entertainment on June 2nd, 2021, Agent Dauber comes face-to-face with the Visitor and “sees” his mission first hand. Meanwhile, Kubo-sama stops anyone who would prevent Father from coming online.

The Details

• Written By: Paul Levitz
• Art By: Soo Lee
• Colors By: Ulises Arreola
• Letters By: Simon Bowland
• Cover Art By: Amilcar Pinna (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: June 2, 2021

Was It Good?

It was okay. Not bad, not great. Okay.

This is our first time picking up the title since partnering with Valiant, but the gist of the story is pretty clear starting with issue #5. That’s a testament to good, clear writing and a strong sense of linear progression in the storytelling.

The art has a brushed, matte quality to it that looks like it was drawn and colored with colored pencils. It’s a unique look that you don’t see that often.

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But with the good comes the bad. While the coloring, lettering, and all the pieces that go into the art generally work, several panels lack consistency, particularly with the faces of the characters. Hairlines, eye positioning, eyebrows, and more keep shifting in subtle ways, depending on the camera angle in the panel, which doesn’t match the change in perspective. It’s a small distraction but still a distraction.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

U.N. Secret Service Detective Talia Dauber has moved Kubo-sama and his contingent of agents and support staff to a secure location while the authorities track down the enemy who killed one of their scientists.

If you’re not familiar with this title, a lone agent travels from the future to our present to stop the creation of an AI that will enslave and decimate the world. In short, it’s the plot for The Terminator.

Dauber becomes increasingly frustrated by Kubo-sama’s team due to their unwillingness to share what they’re working on. The scenes talking with their staff are relatable and understandable. You get why they couldn’t share such a precious secret, and at the same time, you clearly see why Dauber is frustrated with her inability to adequately protect Kobo-sama’s team since she doesn’t understand the motivation behind the threat.

Dauber inspects the woods around the safehouse to make sure all is safe when suddenly, the Visitor jumps her and takes away her phone to prevent any alerts. Using his advanced tech, the Visitor connects with Dauber’s robotic leg to project his thoughts into her mind to show her what he’s doing and why.

We won’t go into great detail here about the Visitor’s origin, but if you know the plot of The Terminator, you get a general idea.

Dauber, despite seeing the Visitor’s advanced tech first-hand and the visions he shows her, doesn’t act as if she believes him; that it might be an elaborate trick. The Visitor accepts Dauber’s skepticism and takes off to continue his mission.

Dauber goes off to confront Ogawa about what she’s learned to find out if it’s true. Ogawa doesn’t confirm it, and he also doesn’t deny it, which leads Dauber to conclude what the Visitor says is at least partly true.

Ogawa, fearing the exposure of their secret, immediately rushes off to tell Hayashi-san and Kobo-sama that Dauber knows what they’re building. Concluding that Dauber knows about the AI because Ogawa told her, Hayashi-san kills Ogawa and leaves to inform Kobo-sama what’s happened.

The death scene is probably the least clear event of the whole issue. Ogawa simply stands there while Hayashi-san strangles him without any resistance. We know there are mind-control abilities involved with Kobo-sama from later pages, but if Hayashi-san isn’t mind-controlling Ogawa, this scene makes no sense. If mind control was involved in the murder, the art needed some kind of tell to make it more clear.

We conclude the issue with the Visitor breaking into the safehouse while Hayashi-san delivers the unwelcome news of Ogawa’s death to Kobo-sama.

How Does It End?

Kobo-sama is just as unforgiving to Hayashi-san as Hayashi-san was to Ogawa. Dauber confronts Kobo-sama resulting in lethal unpleasantness. The Visitor learns the enemy of his enemy is also his (unwilling) enemy.

Final Thoughts

THE VISITOR #5 is chock full of sci-fi action, revelations, conspiracies, and a solid cliffhanger. The above-average art is bolstered by clear, concise storytelling, so this is a recommended read.

Score: 8/10