By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill, Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors), Dave Johnson (cover)
The Story: Now that our titular “spaceman” has rescued the little girl, he has to figure out what to do with her.
Five Things:
1. The nuspeak is very cleverly done. – The nuspeak adds a LOT of flavor to Spaceman. Not only is it a subtle way to make it clear on every page that THIS world is not OUR world, but it also leaves a lot to the imagination. For example, the characters often use the phrase “braining” to mean “thinking”. But, consider how many synonyms we have for “thinking”: considering, concentrating, speculating, etc. They all mean roughly the same thing, but not exactly the same thing. So, when Azzarello uses a word like “braining” he creates a mushy spot for our imagination to work and we get to speculate on what precisely he means. It’s like in a prose novel where you guess what characters look like or sound like. Lots of creators feel like they need to show/tell us everything, but comics are always better when they invite the reader to use their imagination to fill in some intentional gaps.
2. Seeing another Spaceman gives it an Elephantmen vibe. – Towards the end of this issue, another Spaceman pops up and he’s clearly taken a very different path in life since whatever “event” changed this world. Our protagonist is POOR and seeks out a living digging up things from sunken downtown areas. The other Spaceman seems wealthy and willing to use his genetic advantages to his benefit. Clearly these two characters have a past and it reminds me a LOT of the dynamics among the central characters in the Elephantmen series (which is outstanding).
3. Things look bleak for our protagonist. – Maybe it’s a little telegraphed, but the protagonist’s plan (Hide the kidnapped girl at your home until it’s “safe”) isn’t going to work well. But, even though it is telegraphed, our protagonist doesn’t seem that intelligent, so you kinda cringe the whole time as he’s making what is surely a big mistake. “GAH! The dimwitted spaceman kidnapped the little girl! Did he touch her!?!”
4. Risso’s art is really nice. Just like 100 Bullets. – Gosh do I love artists like Risso who are focused on telling a story and NOT on drawing rippling musculature. Some artists can manage to do both, but I want the storytelling first and Risso gives us that. It isn’t that there’s a lack of detail, but he’s just focusing it on important storytelling elements like drawing things like the dirty dishes in a sink or a box of cereal on the counter that tell you: Dirty Kitchen. And, there’s no extraneous noise. Lots of Risso’s panels don’t have a background and that’s fine because sometimes you don’t need a background and drawing one is just going to distract from where you want your eyes to linger in the panel. Lovely colors too. It’s mostly colored in a flat or two-tone style and that makes the rare bright colors really pop.
5. Great cover! – I love how a Dave Johnson cover always makes more sense AFTER you read the issue. If you look at this cover originally, you just see that the spaceman is in the ocean and there is something red above him (the sun?). But, after reading the series you know that it’s very figurative. The spaceman is reaching for Mars since he was genetically engineered for such a mission, but instead he is sinking (figuratively and sometimes literally) on an Earth that has turned into a “waterworld.” There’s so much more craft and art that goes into a cover like this compared to some generic image of Wolverine leaping at you with his claws popped.
Conclusion: Another really strong issue. This series is succeeding because of its subtlety. Much like great TV shows like Breaking Bad don’t pause to make sure that the audience understands what just happened, Azzarello and Risso are confident that their audience can figure some things out for themselves. My only concern is how “finished” is this story going to feel after only 9 issues??
Grade: A-
-Dean Stell
Grade
Conclusion