REVIEW: 'Nocterra' #5 by Scott Snyder, Tony Daniel, and Tomeu Morey

 The penultimate issue of NOCTERRA's blockbuster first arc!

NOCTERRA #5

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Tony Daniel, Tomeu Morey

Letters: Andworld Design

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: July 7, 2021

Cover Price: $3.99

"FULL THROTTLE DARK," Part Five-It's here! The penultimate issue of NOCTERRA's blockbuster first arc! VAL "Sundog" Riggs must choose whether to keep her brother EMORY safe in the mysterious SANCTUARY or risk it all against BLACKTOP BILL and hordes of human SHADES to find the truth about the darkness once and for all!

Score:

★★★1/2 (3.5/5)

QUICK REVIEW:  Sancturay at last! Despite Val's doubts they indeed found salvation in the place Augustus promised. His brother Tiberius has welcomed them in and provided treatment for Emory. Of course, in any dystopian story when a refuge appears, there's always a sense of "it's too good to be true" but to Val, in comparison to the refuge they were in early during the outbreak, this is really is a haven. She reminisces about what went wrong there but now with Emory in good hands she finds relief. 

It's an uneasy sense of relief as any comic reader should know. You wait for the twist. Meanwhile, a lot is revealed about this sanctuary as well as others and the tech that brought the power of sunlight in a world consumed in perpetual darkness. Scott Snyder does a great job of finding the jump scares and suspense moments in this penultimate issue where little action takes place. There is indeed a cliffhanger to take us into the finale of the first arc. 

Tony Daniel and Tomeu Morey continue to do amazing work with detailed characterizations, fully imagined technology, colored in rich bold deep colors. There's hardly a bad panel throughout the series. The Shade designs are especially frightening. 

'Nocterra' #5 lays the groundwork for what's sure to be an explosive first arc conclusion. Val and Blacktop Bill are destined for one more battle and the stakes couldn't be any higher. This high-octane sci-fi thriller is just getting revved up.