An alien crash lands on Earth, takes the identity of a retired doctor, and then get drawn into a murder-mystery in a small town. That premise is worth dropping $3.50 to try the first chapter, but if you missed the chance you may want to know more before spending trade money. You’ve come to the right place.
Written by Peter Hogan
Illustrated by Steve ParkhouseA stranded alien seeks refuge in the small town of Patience, USA, where he hides undercover as a retired doctor. All the alien wants is to be left alone until he’s rescued. However, when the town’s real doctor dies, “Dr. Harry” is pulled into medical service—and finds himself smack dab in the middle of a murder mystery! Collects issues #0-#3 of the miniseries.
$14.99 / 96 pages
These four issues are ostensibly a murder mystery, and one is present, but by the end of the tale it’s almost become a background detail. The real story here is the alien – Harry – and how he interacts with the people in the town. For the last three years, he’s been living in seclusion, and the plot begins when he’s drawn into his first extended interaction with humans. Harry has low functioning telepathy, and he quickly realizes how much he has in common with his neighbors.
The first hint of Hogan’s skillful writing is how seamlessly the first chapter fits together. If you didn’t know, you’d never guess it was serialized across three issues of “Dark Horse Presents”. There’s no repeated dialogue, awkward time skips, or extra exposition. The break between issue zero and one is slightly stilted, but still works well. The other chapter breaks employ timeskips flashbacks to Harry’s crash, providing backstory and building subplots for future miniseries.
Harry’s inner monologue feels simple in its brevity, but is in truth a very distilled naration and doesn’t waste a word. Every word box simultaneously reveals and moves forward his character. The dialogue is similarly tight, with every character having a distinct voice, and every word balloon having a clear purpose. Hogan finds a perfect balance between compression and decompression, neither skipping important moments nor packing the page count with filler.
Parkhouse handles all the art chores in this book, and his style helps to fill in the mood of Harry’s world just as much as Hogan’s words. His pencils have a rough quality to them, helping to bring the noir feel to this murder mystery. However, instead of the darker, gloomier pallet you normally see with noir books, Parkhouse uses lots of bright colors with a minimum of shadows. The final effect makes the book feel friendly and inviting, making you happy to visit this small town despite the ongoing search for a serial killer.
Aside from Harry, whose alien physiology makes him easy to distinguish, “Resident Alien” is filled with a large cast. Parkhouse finds a way to make every character distinct with designs that convey more history than Hogan’s provided in just the dialogue. The mayor’s body language, for example, will tell you he’s used to getting his way. One of Harry’s nurses has solomn eyes which are the first clue she’ll give him closer scrutiny than the rest of the town.
If Parkhouse has a weakness, it’s in his action scenes. There aren’t many scenes calling for action in these four issues, but the ones present have a very static feel. They’re clear, and you’ll know there’s implied movement, but it’s missing the sense of urgency found in art with a more fluid style. That’s not to say Parkhouse should change his style for these panels, which would be much worse. It’s also not a weakness unique to him. The rough, moody lines which are common in crime comics are always better at conveying emotion than motion.
If the unresolved subplots are any indication, Hogan and Parkhouse (and Dark Horse) have a long game in mind for this series. If you missed the chance to jump on board with the first zero issue, it’s not too late. Buy this trade to get caught up and then pre-order the zero issue of the next mini, “The Suicide Blonde,” on sale August 14.
Final Verdict: 9 Buy it. Love it. Share it.
