Writer Michael Moreci and artist Vic Malhotra continue to build a fascinating world set on a distant planet’s colony in “Roche Limit” #4. Crime noir and science fiction blend seamlessly to create a story that oozes intrigue while posing philosophical questions in a thrilling way.
Written by Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Vic MalhotraAlex and Sonya take a dangerous trip to the anomaly while all hell breaks loose on the colony.
“Roche Limit” is a book that ponders philosophical concepts and questions that humanity has always struggled to answer. What is the meaning of life and what happens after death? Is there a “soul” and what is the actual meaning of that concept? Issues of outsourcing, the deplorable treatment of the poor by the rich, and the dismissal of laborers’ contributions are also brought up in just this issue alone. Moreci and Malhotra attempt to address these themes through a dense, yet thrilling science fiction noir that contains imperfect characters that are thoroughly relatable because of their desperate quest for answers.
Sonya, a law enforcement agent from Earth, has come to the Roche Limit colony of Dispater in the depths of space to find her sister, Bekkah. With the help of Alex, Bekkah’s ex-boyfriend (and creator of a mysterious drug), Sonya must wade through Dispater’s underworld and the violence that inevitably follows them. This issue answers some questions about the colony and its past explorers while slyly keeping us at enough of a distance to make us invested in the characters and their predicament. Moreci and Malhotra want us to keep reading their series and, after this issue’s cliffhanger, they succeed in their endeavor.
Moreci’s words can go from being poetic on one page to realistically candid on another. The opening pages’ words are the recorded narration of a now-lost explorer and Moreci’s writing is heartbreakingly beautiful. The explorer laments the lost potential of space exploration and the possibilities that lie within the universe’s vast expanse. The physical world we live in is corrupted, yet “our only haven is the world we make.” Moreci then goes from grotesque humanoid creatures spouting science fictional threats to a heartrending “I love you” from one ex-lover to another. The writing is deceptively ambitious and takes risks with readers’ attention spans. Answers don’t come quick and easy. Moreci slowly unveils layers and tears down our expectations of the characters, leading to surprising responses from them and us.
Malhotra brings Moreci’s words and ideas to vivid life, with Dispater depicted as a metropolis that bleeds desolation, filth, and despair. The simplicity of the art only contributes to the stark enigma of the unanswered questions that Moreci poses in his writing. As a mysterious one-eyed woman looks over a city skyline, buildings swirl in an empty city that dwells below the swirling “anomaly” that instills wonder as well as base instinctual reactions in each of the characters. One aspect of Malhotra’s art that becomes evident as the issue progresses is that desolation of each setting and the lack of a bustling society. With such precise focus on only the main players, a feeling of hopelessness and a world gone underground is put eerily on display through Malhotra’s arresting artistry.
Lauren Affe’s colors are an indispensable ingredient in this issue’s art and contribute to the realism that Malhotra brings to a world beyond our comprehension. Dispater’s muted nighttime colors betray a city that contains brewing sinister elements. Like Moreci’s story and Malhotra’s art, Affe’s colors assist in making us feel as if we’re in a real world setting. This could be a crime infested city on Earth instead of a cesspool of a city dwelling within a Roche Limit colony. Lighting and shadow are used to substantial effect as when a spotlight shines prominently upon a “Jesus Saves” sign on the side of what appears to be a hotel of hopelessness. Affe adds atmosphere to the issue and is masterful at coloring both subdued and fantastical scenes without losing the grounded quality of the book.
One of the most brilliant characteristics of this issue and the series so far is the precision in which the creators have brought this world to life. They are building a world with a setting, people, and situations that are easy to get lost within and that are worth pondering. Through the informational “slides” that are in the beginning of each issue to the extra features at the end of each issue, Moreci and Malhotra pack their book with enough imagination and intelligence to entice us to pore over each issue more than once to get nuances we might have missed the first time. This fourth issue is just as impressive as the previous ones and continues to do what it has from the beginning: coerce us to ponder the unknown while cleverly entertaining us at the same time.
“Change your world” is the final admonishment from the explorer at the beginning of this issue. With “Roche Limit”, Moreci and Malhotra are taking that character’s advice and succeeding at upending expectations of a science fiction story and regaling us with their tale the way they want to tell it. Through great art comes questioning of perception or simply exciting experiences. This artistic team has succeeded at both.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – One of the best new series of 2014 continues to impress with its first issue of 2015. Moreci and Malhotra deserve much more recognition for a book that impresses in every aspect of its execution.
