Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Caliban #1
Avatar Press
Ennis & Percio
Garth Ennis launches his latest comic that fits into the science fiction horror genre. This comic introduces the characters, provides some background and then drops the floor out on the reader. It's a fast moving comic book towards the end after a wordy opening few pages. I recommend checking this out.
The comic is about a crew aboard a space ship expedition, called Caliban. The ship has a lot of miners and scientists in a sleep stasis as the main crew navigates them to new worlds and moons looking for life, natural resources and whatever else is out there. The crew that is introduced show the frustration, boredom and general grumpiness that you might expect from a small number of characters that only interact with each other while staring at the void for days and months on end.
The comic is pushed along as one of the lead female characters is typing out a diary. This helps inform the reader of the mission and give some context to the level of impatience the crew have for each other. As you might expect the mission goes terribly wrong and a lot of characters end up in the void. The threat that's introduced probably isn't what you might be expecting. The mystery will help bring the reader back for another issue.
On Garth Ennis' deranged scale this comic is on the mild side. There is very little in the way of blood or shocking images but the potential exists for these down the road I would guess. The book has a lot going for it despite the absence of action. By the book's end it feels more like a thriller set in space than a horror book.
The artwork is tremendous. The details that have gone into the ship's outside and inside design are nothing short of breathtaking and extremely creative. The comic portrays a nice range of characters despite the small number within the story. The artwork definitely helps along the slower pacing and the dark tones definitely help to set the mood.
Caliban looks to be epic in nature, but in the confined space way in the tradition of 2001 or Alien. The comic is off to a great start as Ennis provides a strong core cast and a good mystery for the reader to ponder. If this is turning towards a horror comic then Ennis isn't giving that away in the first issue. This is a book worth checking out.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
