Deadly Equilibrium: ‘Pandemica #4’ Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
De and Chick discover what the Ark is keeping under the facility: countless infants, some being used to cultivate their diseases and others to help develop vaccines. At the heart of this macabre nursery is the “Lucky Bunny.” She is a baby who was exposed to every disease the Ark was working on and somehow survived. An Ark doctor tells De and Chick that they have no idea how she’s alive, but she may be a key to a cure–or she will kill all human life. De wants to take her back to Pandemica, but Chick is worried that they’d be enacting the apocalypse. Meanwhile, the Ark orders Loverboy and his crew to finally wipe out Moses and Pandemica.
Pandemica #4 is a bit of a frustrating read. The revelation of “Lucky Bunny” explains the foreshadowing we’ve seen in the prior issues of the series, but it also introduces several plot contrivances that force De and Chick to act like maniacs.
The premise of Lucky Bunny is that she is carrying every one of the Ark’s engineered diseases and could wipe out all life on Earth if taken outside her isolated chamber. However, her survival is a mystery and it is possible that her genetic code holds an ur-vaccine which could cure every disease that has been set loose upon the world. However, it could just be that the viruses and diseases are keeping one another in stalemate–which sounds very unscientific. Either way, De seems insane threatening to kill what’s left of the world by taking out Lucky Bunny. Even then, Chick’s own response sounds a tad crazy because the “viruses keeping each other at bay” explanation sounds illogical.
I’ll admit that’s a long time spent on a single plot point, but it’s the major revelation of the comic–plus the book spends a long time mulling over it too. It doesn’t help that Pandemica’s dialogue and characters have been shaky from the get-go, but I’m still locked in enough on this one to want to see how it ends.
Alex Sanchez’s artwork continues to be the strongest aspect of the comic. It’s well-detailed, gritty, and makes the world of Pandemica seem as harsh as the narrative indicates. Jay Fotos gives the book a rustic and grim color treatment, adding to that foreboding atmosphere.
Pandemica #4 is a stumbling block of an issue. It introduces some plot points that are hard to buy and it sets two of the main characters against one another in conflict that’s a bit hard to swallow. It’s a rough issue and I can’t quite recommend it.
Pandemica #4 comes to us from writer Jonathan Maberry, artist and variant cover artist Alex Sanchez, color artist Jay Fotos, letterer Shawn Lee, and cover artist Alex Sanchez with Jay Fotos.
Final Score: 5/10
