Geiger vol. 4

Tariq Geiger, Nate the Nuclear Knight, Barney the two-headed dog, and Zigzag the three-eyed zebra have been on a mission for a while now.  They’ve been looking for Lewiston:  the home of Ash Arden, a glowing person like Geiger who was reportedly cured of their nuclear powers.  They finally arrive there, after picking up an unexpected companion, only to find out that Ashley Arden hasn’t been cured.  However, she has learned to control her powers and is willing to teach Geiger how to do it himself.  This sets up the title character and his companions for an extended stay in her community, where they find the kind of acceptance that has eluded them so far on the road.  Too bad buried secrets and the remaining might of the United States military are threatening to tear it all apart.

“Geiger” has been a perfectly enjoyable series up to this point.  Gary Frank’s art has been consistently great and Geoff Johns’ writing has kept the story and action moving at a good pace with the occasional interesting story development.  I wouldn’t say it has been an exceptional one because this title has been more about doing familiar characters and tropes well rather than finding ways to subvert them.  That’s not necessarily a problem, so long as the familiar stuff continues to be done well.

That becomes an issue in this fourth volume as Ashley’s motivations here wind up being a bit convoluted, if you’re feeling charitable.  While the mentor/mentee relationship she strikes up at first with Geiger is fine, it’s her secondary motives that wind up being hard to parse.  At the very least, it feels like she (and Johns) didn’t think her plan through and leads to a climax that’s equal parts irritating and predictable.  I’ll admit that the post-climax setup for future stories is well-done, but not so much that I’m free of concern that vol. 5 won’t have its own unique storytelling issues.