Unearthly horror inhumanly rips at human drama in the fourth issue of The Warning. Writer/artist Edward Laroche’s tale of alien invasion casts his lens away from the military response to a dangerous anomaly in order to focus more closely on the human element in a story featuring color by Brad Simpson. Laroche’s unique alien invasion story reaches its fourth issue in three distinct chapters featuring three different engrossing angles on the main event that the series is centered around.

The first chapter takes place 15 months prior to the main event. A man is running from an angry group of people. He is dating the sister of his lead pursuer. Evidently, his anger is the result of the man in question having different color skin. The sister confronts her brother. Lightning literally strikes at a climactic moment. Only it’s not lightning. The narrative switches to five months later as a journalist is given information that could be earth-shattering by a scruffy guy at a bar. She discusses the matter with an editor she works with. They’re in the middle of a discussion when an earthquake hits that isn’t exactly an earthquake. The third part of the issue picks up “15 minutes ago” at the. end of the third issue with military response to the arrival of the anomaly that has arrived on earth.

Laroche’s tale casts human politics against the overwhelming crush of an alien invasion. The gradual lead-up to the end of the issue moves pretty quickly. The first part casts a lens on petty matters of prejudice and bigotry that tragically continues to dominate and destroy human life. Then there’s a major disaster and all concerns are cast aside. The second part centers itself on people searching for the truth in a world of secrets kept from the general public...concerns which seem to vanish in another disaster. Then the narrative is right back into the main event of the invasion with all of its immensity. The progression is cleverly constructed to show the overwhelming nature of catastrophic events in contrast to individual human concerns.

Laroche’s art has a sharply realistic presence. Realistic establishing shots of different locations lead-in to interpersonal drama that is centered around human emotion. Faces regard each other in tense conversations. There’s the occasional poignant shot of a pair of hands holding or a flash drive being pushed across a counter or one hand shaking another. Then something overwhelming happens t tear it all apart. Laroche is developing a really interesting visual language for the narrative. He is substantially aided the visuals by Simpson, who casts muted color about the page to accentuate the drama until major events require dazzling energy to tear everything apart.  Simpson’s colors vividly bring across the explosiveness of destructive energy that teas apart the human drama. The fourth issue just wouldn’t be the same without Simpson’s colors.

The fourth issue of The Warning is a really sharp three-act story which has the kind of integrity to practically stand on its own. Human concerns are nothing to the destructive power of common threats. It’s a very well-balanced, dramatic installment of a unique alien invasion serial.

Grade: A