COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Tyson Hesse’s Diesel #3

A DARKER ONE

After the shocking reveal in the second chapter of Tyson Hesse’s DIESEL, it is best to take a breather or two in the rather slow paced third penultimate issue.

Sure, the narrative is accessibly straightforward, or to be blunt here, more conventional. We are first treated with a couple of flashbacks or dream-sequence of the titular character’s first encounter with the so-called “very special people” or “Brothers” who may likely appear in the fourth (and deciding?) chapter, until reality checks get the best of her. There are also interesting introductions of the older crews of the famed air transportation as part of the connectivity to the coming-of-age femme whose real challenges are beginning to unravel. And the rest of the interiors are focused more on dialogues and interactions with another new character (actually, if one observe closely in the first pages, that one already appeared). Hesse’s wordings are sometimes witty, more direct, and a bit serious, especially the bantering moments, and even the juxtaposing of the casts’ respective backgrounds and perspectives, implying the usual storytelling theme of the differentiation of one’s roots, particularly the so-called “heaven-and-earth” clashing points-of-views (Diesel is the former, while her counterpart is the latter as explicitly mentioned in their conversations). Seriously though, aside from the few introductory pages, most of the time here focuses on Diesel and her lost-found friend, more conversations than action. Thus, this second-to-the-last issue makes my reading experience a little dragging, despite the accessibility of the language and the potentiality of unlocking the main character’s true abilities. The most poignant parts in Diesel #3 are the potential reveal of the antagonists’ strongholds, and one or two pages, the inhabitant’s important wisdom imparted to the good lady—HARD WORK. I believe that the author wants young readers to be reminded of that one because everyone has to work his/her way up, whoever she/he is and when he/she comes from. Is that a shot on today’s generation of wealthy brats around who are just wasting their time partying around, whining on basically anything trivial, and doing basically nothing to improve at all? Anyhow, the end of this one reads like a usual superhero (or synonymous with that one) moment of reckoning and hopefully, some answers or tying loose-ends narrative tropes.

The illustrations are still top-notch, but the seriousness and the chosen tone make this third chapter more darkly than the last two issues. The beginning pages are obviously represented of happy memories and that demands of brightly colors and quirky illustrations. But the rest of the interiors possess this noir-feel that only lighten by the characters’ bantering and/or interactions that sprinkled with light-hearted jokes and a sense of rekindling of sorts. The paneling is mostly conventional, but the creator utilizes some unorthodox methods like off the grids and panels, especially when the action and/or comedic moments commenced. The detailing is still there, particularly the interiors of the airship concerned, but the rest of the book witnessed just as darkly as ever, though the end pages presented a return to the creator’s trademarked intricate background, especially the target of the ultimate chapter. As often in the two Diesel chapters, the ever-present quirky facial portrayals and features are littered but due to the tone mentioned, some of these quirks can be seen as a bit forced, perhaps just like real-life situations for some people around, trying to make the best out of some worse situations. The colors actually dictate the overall direction of this latest story that is obviously different from the last issues, from lively to starkly gloomy, dark, grimy and definitely serious more than ever.

Unlike the two previous chapters, Tyson Hesse’s Diesel #3 takes a back seat of optimism, light-heartedness, positivity, and many comedic storytelling tropes and resorts to a more serious and darker tone and cadence. Moreover, the pacing is definitely slower, dragging the flow significantly despite a brief a “fiery” entrance of the book’s new cast. And, upon finishing this one, I think the DIESEL series would not end in the so-called fourth and ultimate chapter, but continue in the second volume to flesh out and expand more of the world-building set up illustrated in the premier chapter. Perhaps, I can be mistaken there, and I will patiently wait for the climatic and deciding (?) issue.