Our two protagonists are being hunted, and they may have just got themselves into a fight they cannot win.

OK, yes, I’m a good few issues behind on Void Rivals, which is quickly approaching its first year anniversary. Why is that, I hear you ask?

The truth is, I was bored. It just didn’t seem to be going anywhere fast, and the tired Kirkman torture sequences (always a low point in his stories) had already popped up again, so it just seemed like he was already running out of ideas.

However, this eighth issue is actually really good, with the story stepping aside for the most part, allowing Lorenzo De Felici’s brilliantly choreographed, highly kinetic action to take centre stage. Definitely Felici is ably assisted by Patricio Delpeche’s very vaporwave-style colour scheme; it all feels very high tech, very alien, and very retro futuristic all at the same time.

It’s also good that, as satisfyingly surprising as it was to see Transformers in Void Rivals at first, that there’s no distractions or unnecessary diversions here; it’s all fully focused on our two titular rivals and their moment to moment struggle for survival against a highly skilled warrior. It’s great stuff, and shows how strong the overall series is when Kirkman isn’t getting bogged down in boring, uneventful lore drops or shared universe nonsense.

That’s not to say there’s no hints at the history of our characters here, or that their situation doesn’t develop. This issue just feels like a kick ass action movie on paper, and it’s all the better for it.