Valiant Entertainment 2019
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Renato Guedes
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
After an explosive escape from a cosmic prison, the team of amnesiac astronauts needs to find a way home! But where is the ship that brought them here in the first place? And just who are these Psi-Lords they keep hearing about? It’s a deadly scavenger hunt around the Gyre in search of a way back home, but this cosmic ring of decaying ships hides many threats within its ageing walls!
Well now I am thrilled that we are here with issue #2 because it's been a while since I did my advance review of issue #1. Even so I forgot nothing that happened because Fred is one of the stronger writers in the industry. It really is refreshing when you get excited over a book that's coming out just because it's coming out, not because it's part of some large event or overly hyped. That we finally are getting a regular series set in outer space here is phenomenal, we have been teased in the past with the Vine and X-O Manowar but now that the Psi-Lords are here get ready to meet a wide variety of species who may or may not have a grudge of some kind.
I am thrilled with the way that this book is structured. The way we see the story & plot development and the character development so intimately entwined and how the pacing takes that and makes this amazing ebb & flow. The way that information is revealed as the story weaves through the pages and as we see new characters introduced is taken lightly by the team because they are still so unsure of where they are, what's happening and have the singular idea of finding their ship and getting out of there. It is a decent plan however.........
Renato's work on the interiors here is some absolutely stellar stuff! I am going to assume that this is what computer generated work is capable of nowadays as this level of attention to detail that we see here is amazing. The new species of cat like creatures are gorgeously done and the creativity and imagination plus the realism of their features is mindbogglingly good. Then of course how we see the backgrounds being utilised is a dream come true as they do so much to showcase the environments, enhancing the moments and bringing a size and scope to the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a very talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is sublime and how we see light sources utilised to create shading and shadows so we see the colour gradation and blocking is beautifully done.
I think that what Fred is doing is fantastic. The group doesn't remember each other or where they were when they were snatched. They remember things, facts and a little pop culture but that's surface knowledge if you will the important stuff that's another story. So not only that but we don't know what effects to their personalities this process has done to them either. So we are getting to know them as they are getting to know each other and that's a very nice, interesting route to take. It helps the reader feel more like a participant in the story and not just an observer.
When the group meets the Widower things begin to get much more interesting as the story begins to take more shape and become that much more dangerous as well. I see things happening here that make me excited for what's to come. The characterisation is just beginning and should they remember their pasts fully what impact that will have on who they are now should be extremely interesting to see unfold. I like the way this is being approached overall and I look forward to what Fred has in store for this series.