It’s no secret that I’ve been enjoying Bug Wars. Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar are delivering a hell of a comic that not only lives up to its premise, but makes me want more with each issue. Bug Wars #4 not only continues to stick to a winning formula, but it also delivers some surprising insight into the miniature world that Slade Slaymaker’s trapped in – and some humanity, of all things, from the insects he’s surrounded by.
Where Bug Wars last left off, Slade was in the company of Wysta the spider witch, who intends to take him to her coven so they can free the amulet that’s stuck in his chest. But even after surviving a death ring full of mosquitoes, Slade’s completely unprepared for the dangers that lie in his lawn. If that wasn’t bad enough, the rest of the bugs are setting aside their differences to kill their common enemy, the Annihirazer…aka Slade’s older brother Sydney.
Throughout the issue, Aaron shows that there’s more to Slade and Wysta than we expect. Slade is scared, but manages to channel that fear into some righteous anger; when a pack of raiders attacks him and Wysta, he stands his ground and literally scares the raiders off. (This also leads Aaron to deliver the funniest line of Bug Wars #4: when Wysta asks Slade where he learned to talk with such confidence, he says “I play a lot of shooting games online.”) Slade is also fighting to be reunited with his family, as even though he doesn’t have the most ideal relationship with Sydney he still loves his brother. Again, I can relate.
Bug Wars #4 once again gives Asrar the chance to work his magic. Throughout the issue, he peppers the pages with new sights that veer between the majestic and the disturbing: the majestic comes from seeing wasps and beetles the size of aircraft (at least, from Slade’s current perspective) soaring through the air, monks riding flies that communicate with maggots, and Slade and Wysta riding a massive frog. The disturbing comes as early as the first few pages, which see an innocent bee lord getting acid sprayed on him by a bombardier beetle. Asrar draws this in excruciating detail, showcasing the bee lord screaming in agony as his flesh sloughs off his body.
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The colors by Matthew Wilson only help to highlight the horror and the wonders of the yard. Gore varies in color from bright purple to bloody red. The webs of the Spyder Witches are an enchanting, snowy white, leading into a chasm of darkness. When it’s sunny, the golden rays of the sun bathe everything in a warm light – a sharp contrast to the chaos that follows. Green, though, is the color Wilson utilizes the most: it’s in the blades of grass surrounding everything, and in one of the most disturbing moments we see a bright green praying mantis with corpses hanging off its legs.
Bug Wars shows no signs of slowing down as it enters the back half of its story, with its creative team continuing to deliver a compelling, well-crafted tale. If this series isn’t on your pull list, it needs to be – I promise it’s more than worth the cover price.
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