The first issue of this ongoing from Oni Press made us very happy indeed, setting up an alternate reality where the president has to deal with news of aliens in the asteroid belt. It was never going to be a simple affair, but with this third issue, the magnitude of the situation is hard to ignore.
Written by Charles Soule
Illustrated by Alberto AlburquerqueHow do astronauts have sex in space? Relationships among the Clarke crew are explored, while a signal from a mysterious asteroid provides clues to the nature of the alien presence in Earth’s solar system. On Earth, intrigue deepens as one of President Blades’ closest advisors suffers a savage attack!
President “Best Surname Ever” Blades is three months into his term, and still grappling with what to do about the solar system’s interstellar visitors. He’s determined to tell the public the truth, but what will be the aftermath? And now that the scientists onboard Clarke have made first contact with the aliens, who can be sure of what they’re getting into?
It’s the most varied issue of the series yet, with multiple facets of this story being explored and looked into, and what’s really impressive is the balance between matters on Earth and matters on Clarke. In my book, Stuff Happening in Space is always going to be the most interesting element of an issue, but Soule manages to make the two plot lines equally engaging. I think the key here is the characterization of President Blades; keeping this character both admirable and sympathetic ensures our attention doesn’t stray too far from his predicament.
So far as the first sentence of that solicit goes – well, there are some (forgive me) spatial relations occurring here, but as is the case with most goings-on aboard Clark, the sum effect is more disquieting than anything else. Relationships on this ship are complex, particularly when you bear in mind that no one expects to get home again, and Soule’s terse, elliptical dialogue really gets us into the resigned state of mind the scientists have embraced. Everything they do has a jaded sort of veneer, and this stoicism amplifies, rather than decreases, the suspense of their situation.
It doesn’t all hold together as well as it could; the concluding sequence breaks up the cool, slick polish of the book and presents a more satirical sort of scene than we’re used to (although there’s a nice frisson at the end thanks to Alburquerque’s feel for gory detail). As for the implications of this concluding action, well – we’ve already got a complicated political landscape to think about, and this action raises the stakes in a direct, appreciable way.
I remarked on the unconventional air of Alberto Alburquerque’s art on the first issue, but as the chapters start to stack up, what’s really impressive is its versatility. From the gothic details of the concluding scene, to the otherworldly, even eerie aspect to the love scene mentioned above, Alburquerque’s full of surprises, always managing to work some kind of interesting subtext into a panel. All the while, Guy Major’s colours continue to be just the ticket for this title, breaking into bright tones for the last scene but usually keeping to smooth gradients of blue and grey.
So far as characterizations go, President Blades in particular is interesting to watch for his expressions; this guy’s always thinking over different angles on the situation, and you can see him mulling things over in his head, even while he plays catch with his son. Meanwhile, the shut-down affects of the scientists are more subtly effective, conveying something of the claustrophobia they’re feeling.
This series is really hitting its stride, managing a balance between tension onboard Clarke and politics back home and laying it all out with beautiful, eccentric art. First contact stories are notoriously hard to pull off, but here we’re getting a believable, surprising and thoroughly compelling vision of what it could actually be like. Realistic science fiction doesn’t get much better than this.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
