From issue to issue, Matt Kindt’s books are a thrill to read, and Ether is no exception. We’ve been following the story of a scientist, Boone, who travels into another dimension, a fantastical one called the Ether, to solve crimes and disprove the magic of the world. As it turns out, this fantastical world is pretty dark at its core, and Boone, like an addict it seems, has slowly lost his life to it. In the Ether, he is a hero. He is Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones rolled up into one. In the real world, he lives on the street and has pushed everyone he cares about away from him. Even the way to get into the Ether could only ever be discovered by someone willing to basically kill themselves.

As with a lot of Kindt’s work, there is no black and white. This is all about greyscale. Heroes, villains, who needs ’em? These are flawed people – human beings many times struggling just to stay afloat. If they weren’t involved in such heightened situations, they’d probably find other ways to make life difficult for themselves. That’s also what makes Kindt’s books feel so universal. These characters are relatable, because we may see a part of them in ourselves. Maybe we fear something they fear. For Boone, it’s the fear of not being in control. In issue four, that fear grows exponentially.



Last we saw our dedicated scientist, he watched as something from the Ether cut its way into the real world to wreak havoc. For Boone this shouldn’t be able to happen, which means whomever is behind it is more powerful and has bigger plans than he expected. A man of science who must have answers is set further adrift.

David Rubin’s art is just beautiful and wonderfully weird. The characters, the world . . . it’s all so expressive. His choice of color helps you to navigate not only the fantasy and the reality, but also the emotional states our characters are in.

Having no idea where this is going, like any Kindt book, I can’t wait until it gets there.