CREDIT: Image Comics
Rating: 4.5/5 – An Alien Invasion Story Where Earth is the Invader
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall
The premise of the book “Earth invades another planet” is a cool one. That premise could go in a lot of directions. Most commonly, we’d have a very action-packed story focusing on the invasion with lots of spaceships and lasers. But the physical invasion of Valius is not the focus of this issue. Instead we see alien agent Zhia Malen on an infiltration mission on Earth. THAT was a really different way to start off a story that is pitched with this premise.
Writer Brandon Thomas does an awesome job of detailing the landing and staging of Zhia on Earth. She needs supplies, she needs to blend in with humans (because she has blue skin and white pupil-less eyes), and she needs to hook up with her contacts, other Valians already on Earth. I don’t want to spoil the steps Thomas puts his protagonist through to accomplish these tasks, but they really impressed me with the little details, which were beautifully accentuated by the art of Juan Gedeon.
If you’re looking for an action packed space opera, this isn’t the place to look. At least not yet, the story could go there in time I suppose. The action here is more low-key. It is the action involved in following along with an agent on a mission in enemy territory. Exactly what is the mission? I’m not sure yet. But Thomas & Gedeon accomplished the most important task for me with a debut issue. They gave me someone I could root for (who in this case is an alien on a mission against Earth, go figure….) and they made the character of Zhia jump off the page and into my mind. I care about her and I want to know what happens next. Mission accomplished for the creators. I’ll be back for more!
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
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