Mega Man #46

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

The “final” battle between Mega Man and Break Man is upon us. If Mega Man wins, he only has Wily’s Castle to look forward to. Hmmm, sounds familiar.

The majority of this issue centers around the Mega Man/Break Man fight. Ian Flynn weaves a tale of sadness and redemption that elevates the two characters to new heights. We’ve been constantly praising Flynn for his uncanny character work, but it really can’t be stressed enough. At first glance, this arc is simply telling the story of Mega Man 3. It’s when you start peeling back the layers that you realize these characters have almost as much depth as a character from Breaking Bad. I’m not saying that Mega Man #46 or any of its previous issues are as great as Breaking Bad (almost nothing is), but it’s impressive that Flynn has developed characters so well.

Ryan Odagawa might be the star of issue, though. This is an action-heavy script, which can sometimes be a tricky thing to visually put on page. Odagawa manages to knock it out of the park, especially when it comes to Mega Man’s facial expressions during the struggle. His pain, sadness and determination really sell the dialogue. Gary Martin (inks) and Evan Stanley (colors) set the mood with interesting use of darkness and light. This arc’s art is turning out to be truly special.

Just when we thought Mega Man couldn’t get any better, Flynn blows our minds. Odagawa then takes your blown mind and reforms it as he sees fit. Story and art have come together to give Mega Man a comic worthy of the property.