REVIEW: 'Radiant Black' #7 by Kyle Higgins, Marcelo Costa, and Natalia Marques

THE NEW STORY ARC KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR WITH A EXPLOSIVE NEW ISSUE!

RADIANT BLACK #7

Writer: Kyle Higgins

Artist: Marcello Costa

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: August 18, 2021

Cover Price: $3.99

NEW STORY ARC!

Picking up from the shocking ending of issue five, Radiant Black's life just got a whole lot more complicated. Pursued by a new enemy and not sure who to trust, will our hero escape with his life? Or is this the beginning of the end for RADIANT BLACK?

Score:

★★★★★ (5/5)

After an engrossing origin story for Satomi Sone aka Radiant Red in issue six, 'Radiant Black' picks up where issue five left off mid-fight in a wall-to-wall action battle-palooza. The mysterious, powerful, and fashionably cloaked adversary is taking it to the Radiant Rangers with some powers they had not seen before. They have to band together and use their unique skillsets to try and survive the onslaught. 

The new Radiant Black, Marshall, was battling Radiant Red for putting Nathan (the first Radiant Black) in the hospital when they were interrupted by the appearance of Radiants Pink and Yellow. Everything changed when the mysterious foe soon appeared and took on all the Radiants. Issue seven is non-stop action as kinetic and visceral as you'll see but also as disorientating to the reader as it is to the Radiants. This foe doesn't speak, doesn't divulge any information as to why he or she is attacking them, it's all attack and counterattack. The Radiants throw everything they can at it with little success. You see that each has special abilities, even teleportation, but they're still unescapable from the enemy as they teleport from one city to the next. 

These long extended fight and flight sequences are marvelously designed and colored by Marcelo Costa and Natalia Marques. The cinematic aspect of the fight from different perspectives of the Radiants put the focus of the enemy's power and force in full display. The punch-counterpunch panels demonstrate how strong the enemy is as it continually knocks down the Radiants. Costa centers the enemy, showcasing its superiority and relentlessness. The color-coded Radiants stay consistent with the colors of their powers and the speech balloons by Becca Carey. Half of the issue is told through the art only and Costa and Marques are exciting storytellers in their own right. 

When the action subsides for a moment, Kyle Higgins allows his characters to catch their breath. Marshall makes it clear he's not done with Satomi despite teaming up against this new adversary. There's no moving on from the damage she's done. Higgins has created one of the most exciting unpredictable superhero comics in a long time. The first arc didn't prepare you for this new one. I thought it was taking a familiar and linear direction, the way superhero origin stories go. Instead, we got to know the initial hero, even read his manuscript only to have him almost killed then replaced within the first three issues. This is not your typical superhero comic at all. Thank god. 

'Radiant Black' #7 kicks off its next arc in thrilling breakneck speed with one of the most exciting battles the series has offered thus far. The world of blackhole-powered rangers opens up with new Radiants and a relentless common enemy. 'Radiant Black' just keeps reaching new heights worthy of the sentai subgenre it revels in.