The 5 issue limited series is one of the best new series of the year
National Mecha: I Choose Flesh Evolution.
Every beloved work of mecha fiction, anime or not, isn't just about cool robots. Whether it's the anti-war premise of Mobile Suit Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion's allegory of learning to love and being loved in return, or a commentary on how power is concentrated in the hands of a select few, the mecha genre is filled with stories that drive something deeper than the chrome exteriors of its humanoid war machines.
Dawnrunner, the new original sci-fi comic from Detective Comics writer Ram V and artist Evan Cagle (Catwoman #32), follows in the footsteps of these giants and creates a story that follows Anita Marr, a mech pilot in a post-apocalyptic future who must pilot a powerful new prototype to defeat an extradimensional threat. It's a mecha-kaiju story, yes, but it's also a ghost story, depicting the relationship between Anita and a weapon that seems to have a mind of its own—literally. It's a big action drama with big, beautiful artwork and even bigger questions at its core. For example: What do all people have in common, even centuries apart? Or another, as Cagle puts it: "What if the military-industrial complex acted more like Bandai?"
"I had this story in my head probably around 2015 or 2016-ish," Ram told Polygon in an interview over Zoom. "It had started in the concept as a mecha-kaiju story, but also with its sci-fi, the human drama in it and the elements of a ghost story. The basic idea is people communicating with each other over time."
