The Megaboard Of Directors Is Here In Kaijumax Season Four #5
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Guard Jin-Wook excitedly awaits the birth of his new child and receives a call from his pregnant wife, Chi. Jin-Wook been bringing home extra money lately, and his wife thinks it’s coming from his guard job. In reality, he’s been bringing smokestacks to the Baba Yaga, but Baba Yaga has just been overthrown. Von Vilestra has taken over and wants Jin to bring in uranium for her crew now. Jin-Wook is reluctant. Meanwhile, the Megaboard of Directors have arrived to oversee recovery after the recent prisoner fights. They want to show unity–even if the Megaboard has widely disparate views on how to oversee the prison.
Kaijumax Season 4 #5 focuses on how corruption can come from those running the prison just as much as the prisoners themselves. Worse yet, that corruption can come as overtly as drug-dealing or as subtly as a callous disregard for prisoner welfare.
This is far from the first time Zander Cannon has tackled this concept with Kaijumax, but this instance it’s no less affecting here. Jin-Wook’s story adds a lot to the theme, as we see someone breaking the rules to do some good for their family.
The Megaboard of Directors are an interesting presence in the story. Cannon wears his inspiration on his sleeve in their design (they form a Voltron), and their leader wants to present unity. However, their attitude towards Kaijumax ranges from active concern, to ambivalence, to outright hostility towards the prisoners. It’s no wonder that Kaijumax seems to be on the brink of collapse.
Zander Cannon’s artwork is as distinct and dripping with personality as ever. Even when he’s clearly drawing upon an existing idea like the Voltron and the Megaboard of Directors, he adds his own conceptual spins on the design. The color work, with assists from Jason Fischer, is vibrant and heavily contrasting, which suits the tone and the world well.
Kaijumax Season 4 #5 is another emotional and thoughtful dive into this world of monsters, cryptids, and robots. The book hasn’t lost its wit or intrigue in its four seasons, and hopefully it will be able to continue like this for however long Zander Cannon wants to take it. This one gets a recommendation. Give it a read.
Kaijumax Season 4 #5 comes to us from writer, artist, letterer, and cover artist Zander Cannon with color assists from Jason Fischer.
