YUKI VS. PANDA #4, available from Source Point Press on November 17th, 2021, challenges Panda’s motivations for revenge when he meets a talkative kid with life challenges of his own.
The Details
- Written By: Graham Misiurak
- Art By: A.L. Jones
- Colors By: A.L. Jones
- Letters By: A.L. Jones
- Cover Art By: A.L. Jones
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: November 17, 2021
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Was It Good?
This title has been on hiatus since the beginning of August 2021, so it took a little extra time to get reacquainted with Panda and his clueless target. We made a little fuss in the last issue over the main stories lack of any plot development and the creators’ seeming desire to create the mother of all decompressed stories. Has the long wait addressed those concerns?
Yes and no. In this issue, Panda meets a boy who’s a regular target for bullies. Panda helps the boy (sorta). Their burgeoning relationship initiates genuine character growth for Panda and creates a little deus ex machina, via the boy’s computer skills, to find Yuki. Panda’s growth is some darn fine writing that serves to flesh out his character and partly explains how he can walk among humans without drawing attention. In short, you get a respectable amount of world and character building in this issue.
That said, the main plot thread involving Panda’s search for Yuki is almost at a dead stop and has been almost since issue #1. In isolation, the character moments are appreciated for what they are, but the almost complete lack of momentum on the actual story is the source of increasing frustration.
The story may be moving at a snail’s pace, but Jones’s art certainly makes the waiting bearable (no pun intended). The colors are bright and captivating. Jones’s character designs lean towards cartoonish, but it’s an appropriate style for this material, and Jones makes the characters engaging with big, expressive eyes and comical (again, no pun intended) mouths.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
It’s been a while since the last issue, so get caught up by reading our YUKI VS. PANDA #3 review.
We begin with Panda impatiently waiting at a bus stop when an exceptionally talkative boy, Hardy, sits next to him and starts asking a myriad of random questions. Panda answers as few questions as possible until the bus shows up. Just as the bus arrives, a pair of bullies approach Hardy to steal his homework. Panda turns a blind eye to Hardy’s plight long enough for him to get on the bus, but Panda decides to exit the bus as soon as the bullies grab a nearby squirrel and shove it down Hardy’s pants.
Of course, Panda is determined to save the squirrel. Hardy seizes the opportunity to ask Panda to be his bodyguard. When Panda refuses, Hardy switches tactics and offers to feed Panda as much fresh bamboo as he can eat from his backyard. Offer accepted.
Sleeping off the days feasting in Hardy’s treehouse, Panda has conflicted dreams about his need for revenge after he tries to dissuade Hardy from taking the same path against his bullies. We conclude the issues with a nightmare, Panda finding a very important news article on a rainy night, and Yuki being visited by a suspicious feline while she sleeps.
Final Thoughts
YUKI VS. PANDA #4 returns after an extended break to deliver excellent character growth and world-building for Panda. However, the main plot continues to be stalled, leaving one to wonder if it would be better to simply wait and jump ahead a few issues. Despite the lack of story progress, the art is colorful and charming enough.
Score: 6/10
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