5 Reasons We Love ‘Sentient’ (TKO Studios)!

An emotionally gut-punching read, Sentient (TKO Studios) happens to be a warm-heartedly sentimental and compellingly bleak sci-fi epic. Fascinating from start to finish, Sentient has so much to say about the debate between nature verses nurture. 

When an attack kills the adults on a colony ship, the on-board A.I. VALERIE must help the ships’ children survive the perils of space. Can Valerie rise to the task?

Here are 5 reasons why you should read Sentient:

Writer Jeff Lemire keeps the children, such as Isaac and Lil, grounded and honest. This is about naive children being forced to grow up and give up on their innocent dreams. Surprisingly, the most emotional and human character is Valerie. Letterer Steve Wands emphasizes the character arc at how Valerie transitions from being a super-computer to a guardian and a mother figure. 

I love how artist Gabriel Walta portrays a diverse cast of characters from different backgrounds. Walta captures an engaging performance in his closeups as Isaac and Lil wake up to the horrors of adulthood. Though Walta depicts the hallways of the spaceship as cold and unfriendly, the kids still look at the stars with wide-eyed wonder.

The colors by Walta had the tricky job of portraying Valerie as a character. You can feel the presence of Valerie in the page because she’s the only thing in the panel that’s blue. The blue tone appears when Valerie pops up on the monitor screens, and when she speaks in the dialogue boxes. 

At its core, the kids go through rounds of hard-hitting emotions, from rejection, loneliness, to love. The narrative explores how the robot acts more human, and is definitely more humane, than the adults themselves.

Essential reading, Sentient is an epic masterpiece that sci-fi fans have been craving for. Highly recommended, Sentient is an incredibly ambitious effort beautifully crafted together.

Sentient, along with the rest of the second wave titles from TKO, are available now to binge-read, with the first issue FREE.