Nuclear Power #3 Drops Astonishing Lore Bombs.

Nuclear Power #3 Review

Nuclear Power #3 tales us outside the walls to see how the rest of America lives. Nuclear Power #3 is written by Desirée Proctor and Erica Harrell, with art by Lynne Yoshi.

Claudia finds herself far outside the American Union and being asked to help deliver a child endowed with powers by the nuclear fallout that should have killed everyone. Yet, that is still not the craziest thing in her life as she’s about to have the truth of what she knew pulled away with one big reveal.

Nuclear Power #3 is published by Fanbase Press, and is available from June 16, 2021.

Nuclear Power #3 Story

Nuclear Power is a series that isn’t always blunt with the commentary it makes, yet that doesn’t soften the impact at all. Immediately going into the third issue we are hit with the question of autonomy over women’s bodies, delivered by the sharp point that both sides claim to be the ‘good’ guys and yet refuse to let the women make their own decisions. Claudia rightly points out that even if they make a bad choice it is their choice to make, nobody else should make it for them.

As I said, Nuclear Power doesn’t exactly spell out the commentary and yet the directness of it is incredibly refreshing. Too often modern fiction seems afraid to actually make a point and so will dance around the edges while cloaking any messaging in metaphor. As if they think actually saying something will somehow ruin the integrity of the narrative. Proctor and Harrell clearly want to say something, and so even when the story isn’t a direct parallel they’ve made it simple to put the pieces together.

It’s also great to see a story like this, which could so easily get lost in the grandness of both the world it has created and the power of the message, manages to keep the focus on the more human and personal elements. It never loses sight of the fact that even amongst the conspiracies that people are the heart and it’s those people who drive the story.

A story like this could be done with a broader focus, but I feel it would lose so much in doing so. Claudia is every person who must confront the truth of the world they thought they knew, and so every step of her personal journey is important to experience to ensure we empathize with the weight of it all.

Nuclear Power #3 Drops Astonishing Lore Bombs. 1

Nuclear Power #3 Drops Astonishing Lore Bombs. 2

Nuclear Power #3 Art

Yoshi’s art continues to astound me as I turn through the pages, the deceiving simplicity of it all. I mentioned the clever usage of single color tones in my review of issue #2, but need to mention it again here. The world beyond the American Union, the world impacted heaviest by nuclear fallout, is all shades of green in a clear representation of the radiation. The only other color in this issue comes from a flashback which is given blue tones, and has the amazing effect of making it appear more akin to old video footage.

I truly love it, and, this is pure speculation on my part, but I do wonder if the simple usage of color is so that the colors can become combined as the story progresses and the truth begins to change the world for those who live in it.

The lettering was excellent in this issue. Every dialogue balloon was well placed and used, the SFX was impactful, and there were some very clever techniques used for certain pieces of dialogue that I’d love to see in more comics.

Nuclear Power #3 Conclusion

I may talk a lot about the messaging of Nuclear Power, since it is such a focal point for the writers, but do not mistake this for a book that is only a message. What we have is a rich tapestry of commentary and engaging narrative that will lock your eyes to the page.

This is a story about super-powers and conspiracies that contains a warning, that it is all far too easy for those with power to weave whatever narrative they wish for everybody to know. If any part of that sounds interesting then jump on Comixology and give this series a read.