{"id":5042,"date":"2012-05-21T19:56:14","date_gmt":"2012-05-21T23:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/?p=5042"},"modified":"2012-05-21T19:57:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-21T23:57:00","slug":"hard-copy-dcvertigo-mystery-in-space-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/?p=5042","title":{"rendered":"Hard Copy: DC\/Vertigo\u2014Mystery in Space #1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mystery in Space used to be a sci-fi anthology comic from DC back in the fifties, best\"\"<\/a> known for introducing all of us to Adam Strange. Vertigo picks up the latest incarnation of that mantle with a one-shot 80-page giant. This new anthology has a wide array of different artists and styles, so there\u2019s something for everyone. All the stories have something to do with outer space in some way.<\/p>\n

Verbinsky Doesn\u2019t Appreciate It
\nBy Duane Swierczynski and Ramon Bachs
\nEverything starts off with some average Joe with a giant robotic arm. Awesome. The art was what first drew me to this story. Bachs has some really good expressions and storytelling in this comic, and I like Lee Loughridge\u2019s colors a lot, too. A great example of keeping a story simple, but still giving the reader a lot to look at.<\/p>\n

Transmission
\nBy Andy Diggle and David Gianfelice
\nConversing with an all-powerful computer over how to deal with a virus that\u2019s taking over humanity. This story felt a little rushed\u2014I think if it was longer, and the dialogue had been therefore stretched out, it might have worked better. But that\u2019s obviously due to the constraints of doing a short story; back-story is tough to fit in. The art is very interesting, though. It\u2019s tough for any comic artist to make a lengthy conversation visually interesting, and Gianfelice knocks it out of the park. You might remember Gianfelice from the first story \u201cSven the Returned\u201d in Northlanders a while back.<\/p>\n

Asleep to See You
\nBy Ming Doyle
\n\u201cNeeding some space\u201d taken to a whole new level. This one impressed me. What impressed me the most was Doyle\u2019s ability to plow through a long amount of time within a few pages and really pull it off. Also, I\u2019m a sucker for stories told entirely in inner monologue, so that had me, too. Some of the expressions in the characters seemed a little bland, but it fit with the story quite well, I think.<\/p>\n

Here nor There
\nBy Ann Nocenti and Fred Harper
\nRelationship issues and a cat named \u201cSchrodinger.\u201d Classy. On the one hand, I feel like the story is rushed, but on the other, it works in the same way that a short gag does\u2014in that it only works at that length. The story runs with some very interesting ideas, and wonderfully plays off the whole concept that whether we\u2019re in our houses, in deep space, or at the bottom of the sea, humans are humans.<\/p>\n

The Elgort
\nBy Nnedi Okorafor and Michael Wm. Kaluta
\nOn a distant planet, a Windseeker saves people from certain destruction, but what\u2019s the real cause of it? Well, no spoilers here! Today\u2019s colorists could learn a lot from Eva De La Cruz\u2019s work on this story. Absolutely gorgeous. The art is very detailed and intricate, but I think there are a few instances where that detracts rather than enhances. This story is probably my least favorite of the bunch. And I think that\u2019s because while many of the others in the anthology connect with the reader on very basic and emotional levels, this one doesn\u2019t as much.<\/p>\n

Breeching
\nBy Steve Orlando and Francesco Trifogli
\nA planet of centaurs where it\u2019s a constant struggle between the animal and human instincts. What\u2019s not to love? In the same vain as The Elgort, this one is about aliens on an alien world, but the story connects much better on a human level. Some very interesting visuals in this story, and Trifogli\u2019s simplistic art delivers them very well. Some of the panels look a little rushed, but the story is very enjoyable to read and re-read.<\/p>\n

Contact High
\nBy Robert Rodi and Sebastian Fiumara
\nRelationship issues in space\u2026you\u2019d think it\u2019d be getting old in this book by now, but this story is hands down my favorite one of the anthology. Fiumara\u2019s art is fantastic in this one. Great storytelling and great characters and expressions. The story is a perfect fit for the length. It\u2019s very easy to fall in love with the characters that Rodi introduces you to, so you can sympathize with them and their actions instantly.<\/p>\n

The Dream Pool
\nBy Kevin McCarthy and Kyle Baker
\nHumans or Europans: who gets the small moon and the mystery it contains? Anyone who\u2019s a fan of Kyle Baker\u2019s Why I Hate Saturn will want to check this book out simply due to this story. The story takes some unique twists, so it\u2019s always interesting. The ending seemed a little unjustified, but aside from that, it\u2019s a solid read. I enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

Alpha Meets Omega
\nBy Mike Allred
\nAlpha meets Omega, and what do you get? Infinity. You know, in all honesty, I\u2019m not a fan of Mike Allred\u2019s work, but this story had me. His artistic style really fits very well with the story (which he penned as well), so my interest in his work has definitely grown. This story gives you a lot to think about, and I really like that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had quite a bit of experience making short comics, so I know how tough it is. In the end, the writer will always feel like it\u2019s rushed, no matter what. So my hat goes off to all the creators involved with this book for making their stories work so well. All in all, Mystery in Space is a good buy. At the end of it, if nothing else, you\u2019ll have a whole list of writers and artists you\u2019ll want to start following.<\/p>\n

-Ted Woods<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mystery in Space used to be a sci-fi anthology comic from DC back in the fifties, best known for introducing all of us to Adam Strange. Vertigo picks up the latest incarnation of that mantle with a one-shot 80-page giant. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[997,88,783,192,1650,1648,1649,1406,1647],"class_list":["post-5042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hard-copy","tag-anthology","tag-comic-book","tag-dc","tag-dc-comics","tag-mike-allred","tag-one-shot","tag-ramon-bachs","tag-ted-woods","tag-vertigo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5042"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5049,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5042\/revisions\/5049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}