‘Nocterra’ #14 review

An enjoyable read from start to finish as this arc reaches its halfway point.

May 9, 2023

As the story continues in Nocterra #14, writer Scott Snyder and artist Tony S. Daniel introduce the third scientific question to the reader: How. This focuses on resolution. And in that spirit, Nocterra is now halfway into wrapping up its current arc. Through this issue, there is a lot of work that Snyder does that connects a lot of the early themes of the series to where it is now. In some ways, this makes it retrospective and in others, it starts preparing for the future. This is paralleled through the story of Emory continuing in the past while the convoy finally reaches Eden. But will it be just like they hoped?

SPOILERS AHEAD for Nocterra #14!

Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!

The issue kicks off with quite the heartbreaking page, as we finally find out what the outcome of Emory finding his biological parents’ home is. Snyder has focused this arc on making him the lead of the series this arc, and it has certainly paid off in spades. The emotional pull to his past is almost automatic, and in a way that’s rather different from Val. The two make quite the duo, but continuing to focus on how his past, the current story, and the steps in an experiment all correlate has been one of the best narrative decisions in the series. The webs of each of these overlap in just the right way that they all work in coalition with one another to create an engaging story for readers to enjoy.

Similarly, the arrival at Eden, something the convoy has been working towards for a long time now, finally arrives. But this doesn’t mean they plan on going in naive. After all, the journey has been far from easy and with a few revelations. This part of the story does feel a little overwhelming at first, but by the time the issue is done, things have fit together well enough for the story to find offer a thrilling cliffhanger.

That said, Artist Tony S. Daniel and Colorist Marcelo Maiolo shine in this issue. Eden is an immersive environment that feels blindingly bright. Although not overly refined or detailed, it depicts what Eden would probably look like to any human going there without any sort of visual support.

Overall, Nocterra #14 is an enjoyable story that keeps things going full-throttle. With this arc halfway over, things are starting to come together nicely. However, it won’t be an easy journey as there are a few shocking revelations that will continue to test the convoy’s resilience to the end.