As far as reading goes, I’ve had a rocky reading relationship with Rick Remender. I’m unsure why: he’s an absolutely great guy (we chatted with him at NYCC), and his comics tend to be a lot of fun (see: Black Heart Billy). However, once he got to Marvel, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit offput by Franken-Castle. That and the kitten killing stuff in Punisher, but that’s because I’m the world’s biggest fan of cats.
However, outside of Marvel, Remender has been writing a science fiction series that is so good, it makes things like killing kittens (no, I can’t let that stuff go apparently) not so much a big deal. In fact, between this comic and the first issue of Uncanny X-Force, I’d say I’m pretty much willing to read anything with Rick Remender’s name on it. That’s how good it is. And that comic? Fear Agent.
All cat comments and somewhat humorous anecdote aside, check behind the cut for some news about a book you should’ve been reading five years ago.
Starting on Image and then moving to Dark Horse, Fear Agent stars the lovable Texan alcoholic space traveler, Heath Huston. Having left Earth after a vicious war, Heath is the last Fear Agent, a group dedicated to taking care of alien issues of all sorts. When the book begins, Heath is a glorified exterminator, taking jobs to pay for fuel and booze and exploring the galaxy. Or, at the very least, he’s floating through it. However, when he investigates an outpost as finds it infested with alien lifeforms called Feeders, it’s up to Heath to stop them. And of course, before he can, everything goes to Hell and Heath finds himself mixed up in a second invasion of Earth, as well as literally rocketing into the past and attempting to figure out how to fix things from the very beginning.
There are many reasons to fall in love with Fear Agent, but for times sake I’ll give you two. The first is that this is an absolutely fantastic sci-fi read. Remender often states in the letter columns of the issue that the purpose of the book was to “give sci-fi back it’s stones”, and to combat that Remender has given us a gung-ho Texan with nothing to lose. Huston and his ship Annie make for an incredibly memorable science fiction duo, and watching the exploits of Heath in space is reminiscent of hundreds of science fiction tropes, all with satisfying results. The book is also a mix of action, horror, and western, and can at times be reminiscent of a one-man Firefly. Remender has crafted a tale here that feels like a classic sci-fi exploratory book, but at the same time it pushes towards new elements of sci-fi. We visit worlds unheard of, but instead of spending an issue discussing why the planet is important, Remender and Heath land and fight their way through, not waiting long for you to catch up. It is a fast paced read, and the attentive reader is rewarded for his time with it.
Pure and simple, the book is incredibly unapologetic, and can theoretically leave you as the reader behind as it pushes forward with it’s story. It’s the kind of comic that doesn’t wait until everything is explained, and that ties into my other reason to be such a fan of the book. This comic is one of the most involved sci-fi mystery comics out there. There are questions and issues raised within the first issue of the book that haven’t been resolved until the most recent arc. Remender promises that this was the plan all along, and I am apt to believe him. The book’s mythology is very involved, answering the type of questions that I didn’t even think would be and doing it instead of telling it. That’s one of the issues a lot of mystery books have – people expect a character to sit and be expository, and Remender only bothers to do it once as a treat for those who had been reading since 2005 and might have forgotten some details. For most every major question Remender poses to the reader, he and one of the two main artists on the book will literally show you if you sit patiently enough.
Remender has certainly created a very intense science fiction story here, but the credit isn’t solely his. Along with him for the ride are Tony Moore and Jerome Opena on alternating art duties, switching per arc (assumedly to give the other a break from Rick’s insanity). There are a few other artists working on one-shots and back-up stories, but for the most part it’s up to Opena and Moore to do the work, and do it they do. I have been a big fan of Moore for a while due to the Walking Dead, so it’s always great to see him making sweet, sweet art. With Fear Agent, it seems like he feels more at home with the story, considering he designed our hero Heath Huston. Moore manages to really get the rugged Texan nature of Heath out in the open, which is particularly notable in my favorite arc, I Against I. Opena is nothing to snub your nose at either. When Opena takes the book, such as in the excellent second and fourth arcs, he manages to create a perfect blend to Tony Moore’s art. While some of you will recognize Opena’s art in the recent Uncanny X-Force book as well as Remender’s first 10 Punisher issues, but comparing the art between the books shows a true talent in Opena as he is able to effectively create different (and great) looking pieces of sequential arc in each book to give it all it’s own unique flair betweeen titles.
With all of these things combined, you end up with an incredibly engaging and fast-paced sci-fi action comic that, to me, is the crown jewel of Remender’s work as a comic book writer. Remender has a great flair for infusing dark humor in his books, and has a writing style that to me effectively defines what a good writer realizes: no character should be safe. While I don’t think Remender plans to kill Huston (at 
least, not before the story is over), every character that shows up alongside him in his universe is effectively a target for any kind of attack, and Remender plays this card perfectly. I love reading a story where I can never be sure if every character I like will make it out alive, and I personally love it when a creator realizes the effect that this can have on the reading experience. Remender gets it, and his love of beating Huston when he’s down has transfered into me.
So to say I recommend Fear Agent is to put it lightly. To be honest, I liked Fear Agent just from the covers of the single issues. I was a fan of the book without ever even reading it! That sort of effective presentation on behalf of Remender, Opena, and Moore simple equate to Fear Agent being a comic book that you pretty much need in your ongoing collection, and with the story about to reach it’s end in two issues, there has never been a better time to go find the trades and catch up.
Be on the lookout for reviews of the final two issues in the coming weeks, and as a side note, it’s also pretty fun to read the comic with Jon Hamm in mind for the lead. Those that have read it will understand.
