Image Comics 2018
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Jason Howard
Lettered by Fonografiks
Mike Blackburn and Grace Moody are trying to get out of the middle of a secret colony on an unknown exoplanet while trying not to make any noise. It’s not working out like that. And the Outerfamilies of Second Stage are waiting for them. Utopia is kind of murdery.
Maybe we are spoiled because of the way we responded to Trees and the expectations that we placed upon this are extremely high and maybe we’re not. It doesn’t really matter though because this is all kinds of oddball crazy awesome. It is the kind that captures the mind, imagination and creativity of the reader in such a powerful way. It is very easy to get caught up in the action and look back at what we’ve seen but I much prefer to think back and look forward because wow is there a lot happening here that for Mike is not just unexpected but back on Earth this was unthinkable.
There are times when Ellis is not phoning it in but writing with usual aplomb then there’s Ellis pouring out his passion in a project and this to me is the latter of the two. I think of Ellis’ strongest assets is his ability to create an opening that picks up where the previous issue leaves off so the story is always moving forward while also making it so dynamic that a reader picking this up for the first time is going be all Dayum where’s the first issue. There are few who can match his skill when the man’s on fire.
Also the way this is structured is phenomenal. The transitions are smoother than silk and as we see both sections of story driven and action driven the dialogue and characterisation continue to flesh out the characters in exciting ways. These are people like us and they are ever changing and ever evolving and so does our opinion of them as we learn new things about them. So the way this outpost is run has evolved over time and everyone alive now this all they’ve ever known. No one knows or can recall what it was like when they first came to this planet. The idea of time flowing differently here than on Earth while an easy tactic to take is also one whose benefits are being explored to their fullest here.
Personally I love Jason’s artistic style. The way he’s able to use different techniques to create this wonderful attention to detail is superb. The big guy in the opening with his towel yeah what should be gross but I kind of wanted to see him naked so there’s a testament to what the man is capable of doing. Then there is the way he’s able to incorporate the backgrounds and whether or not there is high detail or just a lot of black it doesn’t matter it’s just done that well. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a stellar eye for storytelling. Plus I love the creativity and imagination that is on display here it’s fun, funky and familiar.
There has to have been a darn good reason that Mike was chosen to come here though I have yet to really see it. With Grace by his side and our guide through this world getting bits and pieces of what life is all about here however is more appealing with him being a solo scout. He’s really quite adept at thinking on his feet and though he’s loathe to admit he’s quite good at blowing things up. So this odd couple is really what life is about, two people from different worlds establishing some sort of relationship with one another.
This is what we read comics for this is what happens when two people get together and can collaborate and make the absolute best thing out there.