One of the best moments in an “Urban Fantasy” or Sci-Fi series is the moment when the protagonist has their life changed forever as they discover that the world is not as normal as it seems. The moment is usually designed to make them feel small, that the rules they’ve always known have changed. It’s usually a pretty effective moment. There are elements of “Starship Down” #1 that work in the story it’s trying to tell, the story of a professional entering a bigger world but overall, there are just too many missed potentials to peak interest in the book going forward.
Written by Justin GiampoliCover by Andrea Mutti
Illustrated by Andrea Mutti
Colored by Vladimir Popov
Lettered by Sal CiprianoMankind discovers its startling origin! A cultural anthropologist consults with US Naval Intelligence to investigate the discovery of an extraterrestrial ship buried under the ice for thousands of years in Siberia. The meddling Russians, Vatican officials, the international media spotlight, and her own insecurities all threaten her efforts to keep the fabric of society from crumbling. A brand-new thriller with blistering art from Andrea Mutti.
One of the best aspects of “Starship Down” #1 is the effectively slow burn of the storytelling. Justin Giampoli does an effective job of keeping Dr. Young in the dark for a good part of the issue. As the issue progresses, the mystery and tension continue to build in little ways. NDA’s that could result in treason if violated. The increased military presence of what is ostensibly a normal dig site and cave paintings. The unexplained scientific phenomenon around the site. The high levels of security. The joint ownership of the site with the Russian government. With every passing panel more pieces of information begin to fall into place, until you reach the big one, that there is a spaceship. The nice thing is, it really does feel like humanity’s first contact with aliens, which is achieved by the art.
The other thing that works so well about this first issue is just how low tech everything is. The helicopter is believably worn, full of scratches and imperfections. The base is filled with normal excavation equipment. Nothing is too fancy or over the top. There always seems to be temptations in stories like this to suggest that there might be some “high tech” contingency plans for humanity’s eventual first contact. In “Starship Down” #1 it looks like humanity is simply using what we already know to handle the situation.
It also helps to make the Spaceship feel more foreign, making it stand out from the rest of the landscape. Even if in an issue or two, there is some big reveal that there is some weird semi-future equipment designed for studying alien tech, it wouldn’t detract from the impact of having this first issue be so mundane in its design. It helps to emphasize the fact that the discovery was accidental. This is similar to the coloring as well. Vladmir Popov takes full advantage of whites and blues to create a sense of distance and isolation. The town truly feels like it is in the middle of nowhere and the vast expanses of nothingness help emphasize that. But there are moments where he uses color to create dramatic tonal shifts, like when the rapid descent causes Young some momentary nausea. The green used not only shows her nausea but makes you feel uncomfortable. The realistic design of the base and the colors used to show how ordinary the world is creating some fun possibilities. It allows the design of the world to slowly change over time, show the impact of the discoveries that Dr. Young and her team are making. The visual storytelling works well for the story. But there is a big problem with the characters.
Of all the characters in “Starship Down” #1, only two have any real staying power. Now, to be fair to Giampoli, this is only issue one with a lot to do, but most of the characters lack any real strong defining personalities. Of the group of people we meet, Dr. Young has the most going on. She is incredibly professional, but also have a strong level of empathy for the work she does. This is reflected in things like learning how to speak Russian to better communicate with her colleagues and trying to be respectful to the representative of the Vatican official.
Continued belowThe other thing that stands out is the enthusiasm for her work. She’s excited about the discovery and to lend her expertise to the program. They even go out of her way to explain that her area of expertise is important to the mission. She is not a conspiracy theorist or a true believer, she’s not a Mulder. It’s often easy for the protagonists of these kinds of stories to be the “only right person in the room,” the only one who knows the truth. By making her simply a professional as in the dark as us helps make the possibility of uncovering the mystery exciting.
The rest of the characters, though, leave something to be desired. Most of the secondary characters in the issue are introduced, say one or two pretty basic facts about themselves or some form of military jargon, and then move along. It would have been a perfect opportunity to continue to heighten the mystery of the situation, plant seeds of betrayal, or create ulterior motives. At the moment, outside of the antagonistic Cardinal (who we’ll get to, don’t worry), everyone seems at the very least professional or scared. It’s certainly possible that someone will reveal themselves to be a rogue agent, but when telling an episodic story, the sooner you get those beats established, the more interest people will have in return. At the moment, there’s only one character-driven mystery, and one not all that interesting.
The closest thing the series has to an antagonist, at least at the moment, is a Cardinal from the Catholic church. One who seems to have a lot of information about the characters we’ve met so far. But the big question is, why? There seems to be no real reason for the involvement of the Vatican, outside of vague menace to the team and their work. If he was part of a coalition of religious leaders, that could be more interesting, but it’s just not well established what his motivations are. It’s possible that the existence of extraterrestrials might impede the Church’s teachings, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to allow them this level of access. It’s another aspect of the story that could have worked better if tweaked a little bit, but as it stands it’s not interesting enough to give a truly compelling reason to return. That’s the biggest problem, overall. There are aspects of “Starship Down” #1 that are compelling, but as a whole, not enough is done to inspire any meaningful return.
Final Verdict: 4.7 While the art of “Starship Down” #1 is good, the characters leave something to be desired.
