Is It Good? UFOlogy #3 Review

Becky Finch is home from the hospital, but did she leave alone? Will the weird keep following her, and is it good?

UFOlogy #3 (BOOM! Studios)

We’ve reached the halfway point of James Tynion’s alien-inspired mini-series, and the interstellar races are really coming home to roost. They get saucers while the poor, unfrozen military man is forced to hitchhike. I guess even in science fiction, the Department of Veteran Affairs can’t get their shit straight.

I mean, get this guy some exfoliant at least! His face is dripping just like the ET from the first issue! And is he suffering from PTSD, or did he really try to keep the driver from smashing into that tree? He certainly didn’t help by pouring steaming green goo down his throat.

Away from the icky accident scene, Becky tries to get back to normal, but the visions scuttle that hope. Some of them are genuinely surprising and disturbing, but they’re gone just as quickly as they came and don’t take over the tone of the book.

We learn a little more about the doings of Becky’s teacher and Malcolm’s dad a decade ago, the actions that ostensibly lead to the disappearance of Malcolm’s mother. With all that saucer stalking, it’s no wonder they try to discourage the kid from doing the same.

But you know, some things you just can’t get away from. Malcolm wanted so badly to be part of this strange thing of Becky’s, and now he’s going to have to deal with it, firsthand. Be careful what you wish for, sport.

Is It Good?

UFOlogy #3 is a return to form from the first issue, following the painstaking clues and plot development from #2. There and still new mysteries introduced, and old threads are only tugged and not yet unraveled, but those don’t dominate as much this time. The interplay between Malcolm’s desire to get his hands dirty and Becky’s want to just be done with it is back. There’s another neat character moment when Malcolm tells Becky her dad won’t believe her. Oh, that reckoning is going to be fun.

We’re still unsure what the adults did to jumpstart all this 10 years previously, or what their intentions were. That goes for, really, all the shadowy figures from the cast. The true motivations of the melting military man remain mysterious, and God only knows if you can trust that psychedelic, otherworldly goon squad. It’s a great homage to genuine alien abduction stories—caught between the reptilians, the greys and the government!

Matthew Fox’s pencils are kind of pedestrian until the last page reveal, where it becomes clearly apparent that he’s the right man for this project. Adam Metcalfe’s colors are back to their former glory in the hitchhiking scene. This man rules the twilight and should be contractually obligated to draw every sunset that’s ever commissioned.

This third issue is a quick read, not for lack of substance or appeal, but because you just can’t wait to learn what’s going on. You’re left still tense by the end, which I guess is exactly what the creative team intended. Always leave them wanting more. When does #4 come out?