Will Dr. Luke Taylor’s descent into the government’s most secretive project shed light on his origins? Or is he just the next in line to fall victim to his evil “brother?” In this country, not all clones are created equal…

Clone continues this month with issue #3. The story is written by David Schulner with art by Juan Jose Ryp. Felix Serrano provides colors with Rus Wooton covering letters. Clone is one of Images’ new series that may have flown under some people’s radar. With 3 issues out now, did we make a mistake not paying attention to this book?

The story starts with Patrick leading Luke to a holding cell. The two men talk about the clones using the Biblical story of Esau and Jacob. Patrick says that he, Luke, and all the other Clones are brothers fighting for their birthright as the Bible story teaches. Luke is placed in a cell while Luke’s wife Amelia is forced to give birth. This story is interlaid with two other story sections. A team is trying to get in and rescue Luke and the Vice President’s storyline thickens as the embryonic stem cell bill comes to a vote. The VP is the deciding vote, but will he vote party wise or try to do what will benefit his sick daughter best?

Schulner crafts a brilliant narrative with superb character moments. There is action in this issue, but the selling point is the character interactions and dialogue. The scene between Patrick and Luke are terrific and could have even been a little longer. I would have liked another few panels after Luke is shown the shocking scene of a pit full of dead clones (it’s on the cover, it’s not that big a spoiler). The Vice President’s story is complex and helps broaden him from just a straightforward bad guy to a more shady character. The art is great save for two odd choices. There’s a scene in the Vice President’s home with an odd “camera” angle that made me do a double take. Other than a few small quibbles, the art is fantastic and helps improve an already great script.

Bottom Line: Clones is quickly becoming one of Images’ best series. I’ll admit this one flew under my radar, but I’ve quickly rectified this mishap. What could have easily been another take on an old and clichéd sci-fi theme has become a great and compelling story. Don’t make the same mistake I did, go give Clone a chance 4.5/5

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Review: Clone #3

Silas, an ex-soldier turned space pirate, finds himself stranded on a mysterious planet in alien territory. As he explores the long-abandoned industrial ruins of the planet’s surface he will have to fend off rogue mechanical creatures, roving cyborg militias, and a hostile alien military with a bounty on his head. Silas will have to rely on resourcefulness and bare-bones survival tactics in order to stay alive and ultimately unlock the secrets of a planet where survival is a luxury and escape an impossibility.

Planetoid is written, lettered, and drawn by Ken Garing. The only other hands on this book is Drew Gill who did the design and logo. You don’t see a lot of writers or artist who do it all on a book.  If someone were contemplating it, I would suggest they read Planetoid #1 as an example on how to do it the right way.

The story opens with our main character Silas being pulled into an unidentified planet’s atmosphere. He is being pulled in because electromagnetic radiation is interfering with his ships controls. You have the inevitable crash landing of course. We get a look at the planet after Silas lands, and it appears to be an intergalactic junkyard. The planet looks stunning. You start out with just junk heaps, but as Silas explores further you see the world that is created by all the debris. You even get a look at some of the inhabitants of the world. Not a lot is said in the first half of the book. Silas talks to a program in his spacesuit to run diagnostics for the most part. The lack of dialogue for several panels works well. You have wordless panels of only beautifully drawn and constructed planet exploration. It is very effective way of telling the story in this case.

You can probably figure out that Silas isn’t completely alone on the planet, and this is where we get most of our exposition. We learn some of Silas’ backstory as well as a little about the planet on which he finds himself. This is setting up what appears to be an epic tale of man vs. machine as well as some other yet unseen forces.  The backstory for Silas as well as the planet is very sci-fi and familiar but seems to be going in a fresh and new direction. This is a very well done introduction issue. We learn all we need to for now in an entertaining way. Many comics use the first issue as an information dump with little action so they can get the pieces in place for further issues, but Planetoid is entertaining with the inevitable info dump saved for the final pages in a nicely crafted scene.

Bottom Line: Image has had a lot of great new books coming out over the last little while, and this just adds to that list. Planetoid #1 has shaped a nice sci-fi space story that stands out from the rest. Silas is a very interesting character who has seemingly only told us half of his story. Garing has done a brilliant job on both the story and art front. If he can keep this level up in further issues, he has a great book on his hands. I’m looking forward to the next part of Planetoid and seeing how Silas develops. What will he do now that he has found himself on this planetoid? I give Planetoid #1 a score of 4/5.

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Advance Review: Planetoid #1

LOVED

CLAUSTROPHOBIA: The first issue takes place on a small ship, giving the feel of being tightly enclosed. The dark shadowing of the artwork really adds to the claustrophobic feeling, which really builds up tension among the cast.

WHO AM I: The cast of characters from the get go are all suffering from selective amnesia, which adds to the mystery of the book. Through small reactionary events we learn a little more about each character and a small glimpse of who they really are.

MYSTERY WRAPPED IN AN ENIGMA: The intrigue builds and builds and when an answer (in the form of a found android) may have been found, you discover that it only brings more questions to light, drawing you deeper into the mystery of who these people are and what is going on around them.

ART: The art is really a great fit for this book. Heavy black shadows are filled in with sketch-like strokes that lend a gritty, dirty feeling to the story and give things a sense of motion. To contrast with the heavy shadows, heavily lit scenes have a nice color wash on them with white areas between the color really giving off a nice sense of illumination, really well done.

EPISODIC: The pacing of the issue is good and reads like an episode of a television series; especially with that cliffhanger ending.

NOT SO LOVED

Nothing really to report as this is the first issue, there was something on the second to last page that had me a little confused at first but after looking at it a couple of times I understood what was going on.

VERDICT

DARK MATTER has the makings of a great sci-fi romp. The mystery and intrigue is there with tons of questions to keep readers hooked and coming back for more, especially with a cliff-hanger ending. Space, mystery and an android!

I’m sold, final verdict: ADD TO YOUR PULLBOX!

DARK MATTER #1
Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Interior & Cover Art by Garry Brown
Colors by Ryan Hill

Enjoy this four-page preview.

Wilt Manglicmot, Advance Review – Dark Matter #1

Welcome to the beginning of 31 in 31! I and a small group of my friends are fans of Halloween, so muh so that we’ve taken on the task of finding what we consider to be the best 31 films that fit perfectly within this time of the year. Whether it’s horror, sci-fi, suspense, thriller, or maybe something you don’t quite expect. Either way we hope to lead you folks to explore movies that maybe you wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and maybe discover a new favorite for you and your friends to sit around and watch during this time of the year. We will be starting on the 1st of October and going all the way up until Halloween Day, the 31st of October. I hope you guys tune in and read what we have to say!

Michael Worthan, 31 In 31: The Beginning