Comic Review: Sea of Stars #1

Sea of Stars

Image Comics

Writers: Jason Aaron & Dennis Hallum

Artists: Stephen Green & Rico Renzi

The first page of Sea of Stars has two speech bubbles that tell the reader that space is boring. If space looks anything like the first, gorgeously drawn page of this book, that’s a huge lie. Surreal, vivid, and glamorous art surrounds the characters, giving a wonderful view of the universe. 

In Sea of Stars, a space-trucker named Gil is forced to bring his son Kadyn along on a harmless delivery. Of course, things don’t go right for the two, and Kadyn’s “Boring” space trip suddenly becomes weird and terrifying. Before too long, they are separated and suddenly have an intimidating amount of space in between them. 

Writers Jason Aaron and Dennis Hallum do a fine job at establishing the universe that his characters reside in. Readers get just enough information to understand what they need without any overload. There isn’t much rich worldbuilding, but I don’t mind, as it allows for the action to pick up fairly quickly. It also allows for the two main characters to stand out a bit.

The familial dynamic is well done, and Aaron and Hallum successfully manage to capture both the bond and strain between the two characters. While there are a few cliches thrown around a bit, the characters are believable, and more importantly, likable. Their journey together through the first issue is full of powerful moments, especially during an action-filled sequence towards the end. At the end when the dust settles, it is clear that this will be a series about the characters trying to find each other again in more ways than one. 

Stephen Green’s art balances cartoonishly animated scenes with some rough lines. The end result is a book that looks both abrasive yet charming. Green effectively brings an impressive amount of scale to Aaron and Hallum’s script. Everything feels so big, especially the creature encountered in the end. The setting is fully realized, with a wonderful amount of detail in every panel. The movement between the panels is sleek, making this a story an easy to understand read for all kinds of readers. The script provokes some thought, but the sequential art makes it so that this is an easy book to move through. 

Rico Renzi steals the spotlight in this issue with his lush colors that capture the beauty of space. Beautiful blues and purples bring the stars to life in a way that I have never seen before in a comic book. I’d buy an art book filled with just pictures of space colored by Renzi. Inside the space truck, the bright and vivid colors are replaced by subdued blues and grays, which still look great they just don’t have as much spectacle. 

Sea of Stars is a wonderful debut to the series that manages to establish the world and characters with little clutter. While the script is entertaining, it is the extraordinary art that brings everything together. This is a title that can be enjoyed by all readers, and I can’t wait to see where the stars take us next.