Lei Ling was trying to have a perfectly normal date with her boyfriend when a powerful vortex appeared outside the restaurant where they were eating. Lei Ling would have to put her date on hold to deal with the potential disaster in the fourth issue of Aero. Writer Zhou Liefen brings the story of Shanghai’s architect/superhero protector in a feature brought beautifully to the page by the art of Keng. The issue also features the fourth part of the back-up series in which Aero and her old friend Wave investigate AlonTech--the mysterious company that inadvertently gave Aero her powers. That back-up is written by Greg Pak and Alyssa Wong. Art in the back-up feature is handled by Pop Mhan.

In the main feature, Aero is tasked to save the lives of a great many people. At the cost of one more moment with her boyfriend, who was about to propose to her. It’s a tremendous effort, complicating things for her both in and out of the cape. The back-up features a deeper dive into the mysteries of AlonTech as Aero and Wave face the threat of a drone strike with the aid of a woman who calls herself Sea Hunter. 

Liefen has an excellent understanding of pacing in this issue. The opening conflict between Aero and a giant force of nature is given a solid 4 pages to play itself out before the issue dives into more delicate matters with Lei Ling and her life out of the cape. She’s allowed a moment to reflect on the cheering of the crowd, which is a moment of reflection a few heroes are truly given. The manga/superhero-inspired fusion from the Asian end is once again balanced by the back-up feature, which has a more distinctly American-style superhero feeling brought to the page by Greg Pak and Alyssa Wong. 

Given the usual amount of space to work by Liefen, Keng is free to give an overwhelming sense of perspective to the page as Aero battles the vortex and the threat it carries with it. Aero’s inner force of will is palpable in visuals that are smartly framed to give maximum impact to the hero’s mastery of her powers. Even though it’s just her against a massive vortex of wind (for the most part), there’s a remarkably vivid sense of danger brought to the page in close-ups on the heroes’ face. Pak’s art in the second half of the issue feels much more traditional to contemporary superhero comics. It’s nice to get the contrast between the two forms in a distinctly refreshing hybrid for Marvel. 

As quickly as things play-out in the back-up story, the focus on dynamic action in the main story eats-up a lot of pages. It’s a very tight close-up on a hero that doesn’t allow her a whole lot of room to breathe. This isn’t a bad thing, but it IS a bit difficult to relate to a hero who really ISN’T given a whole lot of downtime between action sequences. It’s a very engrossing sense of action. It’s just too bad that there hasn’t been more time outside the action to get to know Aero better thus far.

Grade: B