Sentient
Jeff Lemire, writer; Gabriel Walta, art
TKO Studios, 2019

Another science-fiction tale from Lemire, telling the story of a group of families travelling from Earth to a distant colony. They leave behind a planet that is rapidly becoming uninhabitable, and are halfway to a colony planet that is roiled in political controversy. The Separatists want the colony to be completely independent of Earth; the Earth government wants to  maintain control. No one on board the ship expected the political situation to affect them prior to arriving at the colony. But that dramatically changes when one of the adults declares her Separatist allegiance and kills all of the other adults before being killed herself.

Which leaves the children and the ship's AI Valerie to complete the voyage. Eliminating the adults early on was a bold creative choice. It forces the children to grow up quickly to assume duties running the ship, and Valerie does its best at being parental. When a stop at a refinery station to refuel goes sideways the kids and the AI work together as a team. The narration had insisted all along that this was the story of their mother, Valarie. The final panel promises the children's story in their new home (although Lemire has no immediate plans for that).

Walta (The Vision) has a past career in children's books illustration, which suits this story very well. Although not given a cover credit, letterer Steve Wands played a significant role in giving the AIs a personality in the narrative, even when physically absent. But despite the surprises, there is something predictable about the story. Not bad, but not one of Lemire's best.

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