This new series from Dark Ocean Studios is a space opera story, and concerns a young boy called Kel who is caught in the middle of a war between two great nations. Kel's world was once whole, but a great catatrophe split it into two. The planet became two new worlds named Lotherial and Oren. At first, they lived in peace after learning how to travel to the other side through space travel, but after not long, war broke out between the two nations, and it still continues to this day.
Kel is a young recruit in the war, fighting for his side in a giant mecha robot that are called Ions. In the start of the issue, he recalls a memory from when he was younger, only to realise that it may have been a false memory because of his memory confusion problem. He seems innocent enough, and as I keep reading, I discover that he indeed is an innocent young boy who is seemingly caught in a dark world without his knowledge. A large scale battle is fought in space, and Kel watches in shock as painful events unfold during the fight. Kel is also suffering from memory loss that is supposed to be brought on by using his Ion. However, there is a sinister undercurrent about his memory loss, and I believe there is more than meets the eye about those Ions. This first issue introduces the reader to the conflict between Lotherial and Oren, and the main character Kel. The pacing of the story is quick and exciting, and it's well balanced between action and story. I hope to see more characters besides the ones Kel meets in this issue, since it's a big world, and there's always room for more in a space opera.
The art style is simple. The characters remind me of a cross between anime and comic style drawings. There isn't much detail in the background, but the story calls for the reader to pay close attention to the characters and what they're doing. Often scenes are sad and lonely looking to characterise how Kel feels a lot I think. Through the art, I have gained a better understanding of the major events that took place and changed Kel's life. I'll admit that there is one graphic scene with a man's face exploding, but it is extremely essential to the story as the dramatic nature of the event stands out in Kel's mind very clearly. The one thing that really struck me as likable about the art was the faces of the Orenians as they looked gentle and peaceful and somehow very un-warlike. Yet those people are drawn into a giant civil war that takes up much of their time and energy. As the story takes a dramatic turn, the artwork quickly changes to become more dramatic too, and it flows well with the writer's style. I like how the artist has made each character that we see have a unique look to them, so you can clearly tell their personalities from their faces. The colours are fantastic, especially in the parts with the giant mecha battling it out in space. In the scenes where they are in space, the colours burst with a vibrant energy like the art too, so those particular scenes stood out a lot in my mind.
The comic comes with a guidebook, which is about three pages long. It is written by the Orenian people and explains more about their world, their history and their military roles. It also has sketches that explain various things such as the body suit they wear and the various ranks you can achieve. It's very useful to a reader if you're interested in learning more about their world, their situation and other technical information. Overall, it's a promising start to a new science fiction series, and I'm hoping that the writer will expand further on Kel's personality, as well as the other characters so we get to know them better. More about this title can be found at http://www.darkoceanstudios.com |
