Many moons ago, young Jess Camacho asked her mom to rent her Galaxy Quest from the video store (google it kids) because the guy who was in The Santa Clause was in it. Fast forward to 2015 and not only is this movie a “cult classic” and loved by many but I’ve finally got the sequel I’ve always wanted. Oh, and it doesn’t suck.
Written by Erik Burnham
Illustrated by Nacho Arranz
Once upon a time, a troupe of has-been actors that starred on an old sci-fi show were enlisted by an alien race to save them from an intergalactic tyrant. Despite being way out of their depth, the cast somehow managed to save the aliens and stay alive… but their actions in outer space may have had dire consequences for another world. Join us this January as the cast of GALAXY QUEST returns for another bombastic journey into space!
Galaxy Quest is a film that debuted in 1999, starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Tony Shalhoub as actors in a Star Trek like television series who are down on their luck. They can’t really find roles anymore and spend their days doing appearances at any convention that will have them. Things take a big turn when Tim Allen’s character, Jason Nesmith (Peter Quincy Taggart on the tv series) is approached by an alien race called the Thermians. They think the show is a real life account of space explorers and they’ve come to Earth to ask for help from the Galaxy Quest cast. Which of course they do cause I’m here writing this review about the comic sequel. The day is saved and the Thermians race is saved. The movie is often referred to as the best Star Trek movie ever made.
All that brings us to now: IDW has done what Hollywood never did and is giving us a proper sequel of the film. “Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues” #1 follows the cast as they are now back on top of the TV world. The show is back and a hit and everyone seems happy. That is until super fan Brandon (played in the film by Justin Long) is approached by a new kind of alien. That’s the super unspoilery version of what happens because anything else would be giving too much away. This is too fun to ruin for you.
Erik Burnham is probably the only person that could write this comic book. He wrote the insanely fun “Ghostbusters” series that ended late last year. It comes as no surprise that he did such a great job with the script in this debut. Like his work on “Ghostbusters”, he gets these characters. He knows what they’re supposed to sound like and how they behave. There are some really funny and clever jokes that are thrown in here about TV actors and their egos that really anyone will get. The dialogue really stuck out the most because it’s written in a way where you hear the actors voices in your head. I’ll use “Star Wars” #1 to contrast this. In that issue, C3PO was too wordy and it didn’t sound like him. I didn’t hear C3PO. In “Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues”, I heard Tim Allen and Sam Rockwell. I heard the Thermian accents. It’s a showing of great respect for the original movie.
The plot itself is very good; I’m genuinely excited to see where it goes because it ties to closely to the film’s ending. It’s a look at how even the best of actions can have terrible consequences. With Galaxy Quest being a send up of Star Trek, it’s proper that Burnham decided to go this route with the story. It’s something that show would have tackled but because this is comedic, you can guarantee that this will be a breeding ground for organic humor.
The art by Nacho Arranz has me a little on the fence. I like it for the most part but have some reservations. The designs on the aliens and the few action centric pages in the early part of the issue are great. I loved them. There was great movement and the breakdowns made the issue flow very nicely. What I’m on the fence about are the renderings of the cast themselves. They don’t look like the actors and on one hand, I’m happy about that decision because I think it allows Arranz more flexibility as an artist but I worry that it’s not the best use of the star power at hand. Weaver is an icon and I think seeing a drawing of her on a comic cover will get someone to pick up the issue immediately. However, to be fair, it’s not like Arranz made some huge creative changes. Their costumes still look like the movie and the one Thermian we get to see, Laliari is very well designed.
“Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues” #1 is a really solid start to what feels like the total opposite of what so many licensed comics. This is respectable to the original film so fans of it will find a ton to like here. I’m excited for this and I’m hoping that this proves to be a great successor to Burnham’s work on “Ghostbusters”.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Nostalgic and a ton of fun.
