Once I made it to the end of this issue, I realized that Last Born may actually get to something really great over its next few issues. Just like the premiere issue though, this one contends itself with solely further establishing its premise. We find Julia in the midst of a training session with the white bearded Ford and Eden, his near-feral travelling companion. The session is soon interrupted by the arrival of Private Lee who falls from the sky. After some polite intros, things flash-back (forward?) to Lee’s life prior to his arrival in Julia’s future, his past, via the same cave. Through some handy exposition, we learn that in Lee’s future the world has been overrun by an ambiguous invading force that has caused the few survivors to all make their home on a marine outpost. Lee, one of these few survivors, is selected for the mission to return to the past, and present an opportunity for the future to Julia and co.

Tonally, things shift dramatically in the couple pages we get of Lee’s future. Despite its apocalyptic setting, we’re treated to a dance scene and a sex scene back-to-back, showing us the luxuries that Lee gives up in order to fulfill his mission. I also really appreciated getting to see his trip to the past from his point-of-view, climaxing in a humorous moment where Lee is clearly surprised by what ends up happening to him.

The rest of the issue doesn’t quite live up to that, but I really liked the double page where Lee explains how the big bang occurs, and delivers his pitch to the ragtag team. The combination of evolution imagery and more abstract depictions of life made for one of the few stylistic flourishes present in this comic.

Other than that, I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that these characters seem to change color page by page. Maybe that happens in the future, or maybe strobe lights are just really strong in some scenes. Whatever it is, I’m intrigued enough by the comic’s setup to continue checking it out.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Patrick Meaney Artist: Eric Zawadzki Publisher: Black Mask Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 10/29/14 Format: Print