Written by Joseph Mallozi and Paul Mullie.
Art by Garry Brown.
Colours by Ryan Hill.
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft.
Published by Dark Horse Comics.
Price $3.50
Things get set-up for a big finale and things get all explodey.
The good thing about having to review the last two issues of a series it that you get to see how the story works in a more wholesome chunk. In fact I’d much prefer to see this comic released as a series of graphic novels.
The world of Dark Matter is more humanity in the frontiers of space than alien races interacting or at conflict with man. Kind of Firefly meets Stargate (of which the writers are more than familiar with) Dark Matter is quite evidently a good tv show in comic form rather than a movie in comic form. A film would have a self-contained story. A series would have a series of arc with an evident hook to tune in for the next season.
The story is action-packed with enough to keep me interested and the art is still very good and I hope that the art team return for the next volume. The characters may not be the deepest but they do kick some butt and seem like they’re going somewhere. If anything being part of the “I wants it now” culture I’d like to see Dark Matter pick up the pace a bit with regards to the overall arc as comics like tv shows can get cancelled too.
I hate seeming down on this comic but I know it can be damn fine but it’s not daring enough and the core idea is really impressive and hasn’t been done an awful lot in comics and I’d like to see this genre be the next big thing. It’s brimming with potential and is very entertaining but it can be more than that. This is a comic I like a lot and can see myself loving. It’s up to the creators and I think they know they’ve got something good in their hands. I’ll look forward to season 2 and see if the crew of the Raza find their way and unravel the mysteries that surround them.
Story: 3.5 out of 5
Art: 4 out of 5
Overall 7.5 out of 10.
A good series that keeps threatening to be great. That’s still better than a lot of other series.
