Final Volume Review!

The action in the final volume of Barrage begins as it should—the resolution to the previous volume's cliffhanger. While on a mission to save the planet Industria from hostile alien invadors, Astro and Tiamat quickly encounter trouble in the city of Marseille. There to give them a not-so-warm greeting is Tiko, a girl who harbors hatred for the military. The battle between Astro and Tiko is short, as she figures both Astro and Tiamat don’t mean her any harm. Astro also discovers that her family situation is very much like his own, so he sympathizes with her plight.

Despite the introduction of Tiko, Tiamat is the one that really shines in these early scenes. There’s good comedy in the Head Of Military Forces being scared of a little girl. Especially given that “Tiamat” in Babylonian mythology is a primordial goddess of the ocean. It’s true look it up! Yet for all the humorous overtones in his character, Tiamat is an ideal officer. He’s brave, superhumanly competent, and above all, he is incorruptible. After talking with Tiko and her adopted father, Tiamat is incensed when he finds out members of his military have joined forces with alien invaders in their town.

Astro is also touched by Tiko’s tragic story, and we then briefly get a glimpse into Astro's street kid past and his own “father figure” that saved him. Black (Astro’s father figure) is a bit of a troubling character. Despite his alien lineage, he takes time to teach Astro about life and how to support his gang of orphans.

Astro's determined to help remedy Tiko's situation. However, when he later learns the identity of the man behind all the trouble, will Astro still be up to the challenge or will he falter in the face of doubt?

Find out with the final volume release of Barrage, available now!

by Robert McCarthy