By Paul Cornell, Ryan Kelly, David Lapham, Mirko Colak, and Andrea Mutti; Vertigo Comics
This review will contain mild *SPOILERS*. For a *SPOILER* free review of Saucer Country please go here.
Saucer
Country is a comic series designed to prey specifically on my childhood fear of
extraterrestrials, and it is pretty great. The Series follows Arcadia Alvarado,
a democratic nominee for President of The United States, as she searches for
the truth behind her alien abduction experiences. The Reticulan Candidate picks
up well into the election cycle, with Alvarado and her supporters running the
gauntlet of debates and primaries and campaigning in the public spotlight.
Against this scrutiny the group is also continuing their search to uncover the
truth about Alvarado's abduction and the broader truth about extraterrestrial
visitors to Earth. The Reticulan Candidate adds some really compelling layers
of complexity to an already very elaborate conspiracy and smacks us with some
pretty great revelations and surprises about the ongoing story. It’s a
fantastic second chapter. One of the greatest strengths of The Reticulan
Candidate, and Saucer Country in general, is how well it manipulates its audience’s
relationship with conspiracy. The comic is very aware that we are
simultaneously skeptical of the most fantastic elements of the comic and demand
rational explanations, while also deeply invested in the existence and story of
the supernatural elements. The way The Reticulan Candidate walks the tight rope
between disappointing us with mundane reality or disappointing us by embracing
pure fantasy is brilliant. And in doing so, the comic really becomes this
exploration of what conspiracy is, and how it preys on the belief of its
faithful to exist. The Reticulan Candidate is great comics.
Word count: 250
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