The Orville #1
Dark Horse
Writer: David A. Goodman
Artist: David Cabeza
The Orville #1 is a four-issue tie-in series set between seasons 1 and 2 of the television show of the same name. Licensed comics tend to be a mixed bag, usually coming across as unnecessary or uninspired with the occasional great one slipping through the cracks. Luckily, pulling one of the show’s executive producers and writers, David A. Goodman, to write the book alleviates my worry of it feeling uninspired. While it’s not perfect, The Orville #1 successfully captures what works about the television show.
The best thing about this issue is its authenticity. Each character’s voice sounds exactly as it should, and each line sounds like something that could be uttered on the show. Granted, sometimes a bit condensed due to the nature of the format, but it’s familiar all the same. The episodic nature of the show translates very well to the comic page, allowing the pacing to feel similar. It makes the book, in some ways, feel like a scrapped television script re-utilized for the comic book format.
This familiarity is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it allows you to feel immediately comfortable and engrossed in the book. On the other, it doesn’t much account for the shift in medium. Most notably, in its humor. The Orville show is fairly reliant on comedy and it tends to land well. The comic replicates that style of humor, but comedy in comics doesn’t work exactly the same as on television. There are no actors reading these lines, meaning the comedy must be, to some extent, conveyed visually. Many of the jokes in this issue read as though they should be funny, but they lack much consideration for the medium. If recited by actors, the jokes would land much better.
This can be forgiven because while it’s not always funny, it’s still a charming book. However, the art by David Cabeza is not to my taste. Licensed comics often run into this issue, in which the artist’s main goal is to perfectly replicate the look of the actors. This can oftentimes lead to stiff and uncanny expressions. With more artistic liberties taken, the characters could resemble the actors but still be distinct enough to employ more exaggerated cartooning. As it is, the art must stay restrained and simple.
To its credit, it succeeds in what it sets out to do. The characters do look like their tv counterparts, and perhaps from a marketing standpoint, this is the right call. A fan of the show may walk into a comic shop, recognize the book, and appreciate the closeness to the television show. This is a comic book though, and the artist’s storytelling needs more dynamism. While there are flashes of good sequential work here, they’re too far and few between. I love the show, but I’m a fan of comics first and the art leaves that side of me wanting more.
While it may sound like I disliked this book, I didn’t. I had fun re-entering this world while I anxiously await season 3. The character work is genuine and fun, and it retains the charm that makes the property so special. Its most grievous flaw is that it makes little to no effort to shift its storytelling perspective from TV to comics. Despite that, it’s a fun ride for fans, and I’m looking forward to reading up the rest of the series.
The Orville #1
The character work is genuine and fun, and it retains the charm that makes the property so special. Its most grievous flaw is that it makes little to no effort to shift its storytelling perspective from tv to comics. Despite that, it’s a fun ride for fans, and I’m looking forward to reading up the rest of the series.
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Story
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Characters
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Art