“President Alien” — the unlikely story of President Obama’s real birth certificate!
Wait, wrong comic. Still, this one doesn’t sound half-bad, either.
Written by Peter Hogan
Illustrated by Steve ParkhouseA stranded alien bides his time in the sleepy town of Patience, USA. Living undercover as a semi-retired doctor, his only hope is to stay off humanity’s radar until he can be rescued. When he’s pulled into a surprising murder mystery by the town’s desperate mayor and struggling police chief, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle learns more about the human condition than he ever wanted to. He also finds police procedural work to be oddly appealing, and it’ll certainly kill time until he’s found. Acclaimed creators Peter Hogan (2000 AD, Tom Strong) and Steve Parkhouse (Milkman Murders, Doctor Who) deliver a truly unique sci-fi adventure tale with heart and humor!
Perhaps the best adverb/adjective combination to describe “Resident Alien” would be “surprisingly natural.” These days, genre-blending has become genre-mashing, with would-be writers tossing two or more — sometimes much more — into a pot and hoping it will come put tasting alright. Not only do these terrible cooks not think of what favors complement each other, they think that the ingredients will do all the work, and that they need to do little besides giving an occasional stir. Terrible metaphors aside, even if Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse’s “Resident Alien” started with a simpler “You know what would be cool? An alien doctor — who solves crime!” it doesn’t show. This doesn’t read like a contrived attempt at re-painting the medical mystery genre in a shiny sci-fi coat — the themes that are in play here dovetail nicely, resulting in a book that is focused and sharp, when the premise suggests it could have been anything but. Hogan’s dialogue plays a key part, too — the writer doesn’t feel the need to write anything snappy or dramatic, choosing instead words and sentences that sound everyday. In the end, though, they’re anything but; it is the commonplace and believable sound of the dialogue that makes it all the more resonant and interesting. Hogan puts on no airs, to the satisfaction of all.
One problem, though, is that Hogan’s script seems a bit on the choppy side. He cuts from one scene to another at a brisk pace, with the longest continuous scene only lasting three pages, and multiple one-page scenes. Of course, this is often a key component of modern-day mysteries — we don’t want to see the protagonist stumped for a few hours, only that one moment of brilliance — but convention is hardly excuse. It isn’t even that the pace is thrown off or anything like that; the rapid cuts do not at all affect the plot’s flow in any negative way, in fact. However, this kind of approach can certainly take the reader out of the comic he or she is reading; as soon as the reader notices, they are reminded that what they are reading is just that, a fictional construct, and not something they are watching unfold before their very eyes. Hogan’s approach could be seen as a response to the rise of overly decompressed storytelling, and as a gradual return to stories like the ones Stan and Jack told, but the transitions are just rough enough to work against him; hardly so sudden as to be jarring, but just enough to be noticeable.
Steve Parkhouse is doing a great job on artistic duties, creating panels that are aesthetically pleasing, and not in the gaudy way that many modern artists are. His faces are expressive without coming off as exaggerated, with emotion in every slight shift — the only exception is the lawyer we meet briefly in this issue, who seems stiff as a board, but compared to the great control of emoting that Parkhouse has through the rest of the issue it is apparently the exception, and not the rule. Minor, but nuanced, emotions such as the slight impatience one has during a regular checkup or the mildly interested nostalgia one has when glancing at an old school yearbook are unmistakable under his pen, without blending into more general looks of being “angry” or “happy.” The only real concern is that Parkhouse’s colors seem a bit more rough this issue — whether this is a one-time fluke or a trend that will continue with the series remains to be seen.
“Resident Alien” is one of those comics that could easily slip from the comic-reading public’s attention due to its surprisingly non-gimmicky nature, which would be a travesty. Smart writing and smart artwork make this book one of the few new Dark Horse series that are leading the company’s struggle to reclaim the title or creator-owned monarch from Image Comics. If you haven’t yet, try to find the #0 and #1 in your local comic book store, and pick up this little book that could.
Final Verdict: 8.3 – Buy it!
