Habitat

Starred review from December 12, 2016
First serialized in Image’s anthology comic Island, this unpredictable science-fiction adventure is long on imagination, if short on plot and character development. In a vast interstellar spaceship, something has gone very wrong. Generations ago, an accident destroyed key systems and the ship’s security guards seized control. Now the original crew’s descendants have devolved into a barely functioning feudal system, clambering among the overgrown ruins of their ancestors’ enormous machines. Hank Cho has worked his way up from the cannibalistic peasantry to an elite security team when he stumbles into a revolutionary movement to save the Habitat from collapse. With a spectacular European-influenced art style that recalls classic Heavy Metal illustrators Moebius and Geoff Darrow, Roy (Tiger Lung) draws intricate, eye-popping environments; the upswept “horizon” of the ring-shaped ship is particularly amazing to look at. The hurried story doesn’t have much time to develop, nor do the hard-bitten characters, but this guy can really draw.

February 1, 2017

Hank Cho is a newly minted security officer aboard a roughly planet-sized, damaged, and abandoned space station marred by constant war among the tribe-like descendants of the original crew. He discovers some ancient and forbidden technology and is thrust into a sprawling escapade that just might decide the fate of society. Will his discovery doom the station to apocalyptic war, or could this be the first step in the station's reunion with the rest of humankind? Featuring bloody battle scenes, political intrigue, and plenty of giant robots, writer and illustrator Roy (Prophet) has crafted a tale that, while short, easily stands beside the best space opera and sf of the last decade while maintaining a sensibility and aesthetic that fans of edgier, more independent comics will love. Originally serialized in the Image anthology Island issues 2, 5, and 8, collected here for the first time. VERDICT An immensely enjoyable and essential survival tale that fans of visceral action, tales of dystopian futures, sf, and independent comics are sure to embrace.--TB

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