Friday
Dec032010
The Intergalactic Nemesis: The Complete First Series review
A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across an intriguing comic series in Austin Books and Comics. It was a full-colour indie comic packaged together as the whole seven-issue series. Curious, I just went ahead and bought it without anything more than a quick glance through the first issue. From what I could tell, The Intergalactic Nemesis was looking to be a fun read, and I couldn't wait to get into it.
The Intergalactic Nemesis is a story about a reporter, Molly Sloan, and her sidekick, Jimmy. Trying to get a new story, the pair quickly find themselves in an adventure involving a time traveler, an alien invasion, a robot planet, a mad hypnotist, and pages of retro pulpy antics. This is not a comic to take seriously at all, but appealed perfectly to my love of early science fiction cheesiness. The story is a steady stream of expected and illogical plot devices delivered in hyperdrive. By the time you sink in what just happened at one epic encounter, the protagonists are being taken into space by an unknown ship. It could be said that the series places a little too much reliance on classic tropes, but it is hard to care when it is this fun.
The dialogue alone makes it well worth the read; its stilted, unnatural, and absolutely amazing. Molly Sloan in particular makes frequent use of retro, kitschy slang and the librarian Ben Wilcott peppers his speech with the word “archive”- “GREAT ARCHIVE! NOT A HORSE. ANYTHING BUT A HORSE.” The heart of this story is the humour, and the dialogue really adds to that.
The art is very well crafted with an aesthetic deeply rooted in early SF trappings in a 1930s setting. The over-the-top splash pages and vehicle/enemy design set the stage perfectly for the story. It never tries to tone down the use of sludge monsters, robots, mad villains, etc; the character expressions themselves seem pulled straight out of an old B movie. It is so over-the-top epic that the word “MESMOGRIFIER!!!” can't even be contained within a single speech-balloon, and literally half the word extends beyond the balloon. Now that, dear reader, is quality writing.
If I haven't made it clear already, I really got a kick out of reading The Intergalactic Nemesis. It is a fun, campy read that reminds me of older comics and B-movies, but with a self aware cleverness and production value that makes it more enjoyable than much of what it is inspired by. It is also pretty kid friendly, and I could see children enjoying it just as much as I did. Your own enjoyment hinges on your appreciation of the style of SF described, but I'm pretty sure many others will have as good a time as I did.
There are also some related media that I can't comment on having experienced neither, but am curious about them. There is a radio drama, which sounds like it would be a great way to experience the story through a medium appropriate to its time period. There is also some kind of comic-show where the panels are projected on screen with live actors reading the dialogue accompanied by sound effects. I have read very positives reactions to both, and would love to check out the show. Sure, I read the dialogue in my head with the appropriate exaggerated gusto, but am sure that it would be quite an experience to hear it acted out.
If you want to buy it, the series can be ordered from its website here.
The Intergalactic Nemesis is a story about a reporter, Molly Sloan, and her sidekick, Jimmy. Trying to get a new story, the pair quickly find themselves in an adventure involving a time traveler, an alien invasion, a robot planet, a mad hypnotist, and pages of retro pulpy antics. This is not a comic to take seriously at all, but appealed perfectly to my love of early science fiction cheesiness. The story is a steady stream of expected and illogical plot devices delivered in hyperdrive. By the time you sink in what just happened at one epic encounter, the protagonists are being taken into space by an unknown ship. It could be said that the series places a little too much reliance on classic tropes, but it is hard to care when it is this fun.
The dialogue alone makes it well worth the read; its stilted, unnatural, and absolutely amazing. Molly Sloan in particular makes frequent use of retro, kitschy slang and the librarian Ben Wilcott peppers his speech with the word “archive”- “GREAT ARCHIVE! NOT A HORSE. ANYTHING BUT A HORSE.” The heart of this story is the humour, and the dialogue really adds to that.
The art is very well crafted with an aesthetic deeply rooted in early SF trappings in a 1930s setting. The over-the-top splash pages and vehicle/enemy design set the stage perfectly for the story. It never tries to tone down the use of sludge monsters, robots, mad villains, etc; the character expressions themselves seem pulled straight out of an old B movie. It is so over-the-top epic that the word “MESMOGRIFIER!!!” can't even be contained within a single speech-balloon, and literally half the word extends beyond the balloon. Now that, dear reader, is quality writing.
If I haven't made it clear already, I really got a kick out of reading The Intergalactic Nemesis. It is a fun, campy read that reminds me of older comics and B-movies, but with a self aware cleverness and production value that makes it more enjoyable than much of what it is inspired by. It is also pretty kid friendly, and I could see children enjoying it just as much as I did. Your own enjoyment hinges on your appreciation of the style of SF described, but I'm pretty sure many others will have as good a time as I did.
There are also some related media that I can't comment on having experienced neither, but am curious about them. There is a radio drama, which sounds like it would be a great way to experience the story through a medium appropriate to its time period. There is also some kind of comic-show where the panels are projected on screen with live actors reading the dialogue accompanied by sound effects. I have read very positives reactions to both, and would love to check out the show. Sure, I read the dialogue in my head with the appropriate exaggerated gusto, but am sure that it would be quite an experience to hear it acted out.
If you want to buy it, the series can be ordered from its website here.
tagged 
Featured, Headline, Indie, SF, Texas, austin books and comics, comic, intergalactic nemesis, pulp, spaceships
Featured, Headline, Indie, SF, Texas, austin books and comics, comic, intergalactic nemesis, pulp, spaceships
Reader Comments (1)
Evan! Thanks for picking up the book. I can't tell you how cool it was to read this review. Please let your readers know that they can see the Live-Action Graphic Novel at the Long Center in Austin on Jan 8. http://www.thelongcenter.org Also email me and let me know if you'd like a couple of press comps for yourself.