Mega Man #45

By Ian Flynn, Ryan Odagawa, Gary Martin, Evan Stanley

The last issue of Mega Man was great, despite its lack of closure. After the end of this issue, it’s obvious that our proper closing will happen during this arc. Things really couldn’t be worse for Dr. Light and once again, it’s up to Mega Man to make things right.

Wily has control of Light’s lab and is destroying everything with the help of Doc Robot (a famous boss from Mega Man 3). Meanwhile, Mega Man and Break Man are fighting outside, which is a distraction to allow Wily and Doc Robot to escape. By the end of the issue, it’s obvious that the events of Wily’s Castle from Mega Man 3 are about to unfold. This is going to be spectacular.

Once again, Flynn has shown that his direction for Mega Man is the best possible way to go about things. It’s hard to give some of these characters a real voice, since most of them were never really meant to leave 8-bit games to be examined. The story in issue 45 is not only touching, but it’s relatable. Dr. Light feels utterly defeated and has lost all faith in not only humanity, but in himself. The way Flynn scripts things allows the reader to really feel for the heroes and relate to them on numerous levels.

This is the first issue of Mega Man for Ryan Odagawa and we already want more. Odagawa still retains the Archie Mega Man style, but gives it much more of an edge. It’s very appealing for the modern comic book reader. Evan Stanley’s colors makes things even better, using shadows to express the dire situations, yet still keeping things colorful. It’s a wonderful balance that really helps the issue out.

Flynn is still the Mega Man master and now Odagawa is drawing it? This is like a beautiful dream that I don’t want to wake up from. Odagawa’s name is plastered on the remaining issues of this arc. We can’t wait for the next chapter.