A very enjoyable and engaging space opera. After a Galactic War a precarious peace exists, within this there is still trouble and problems. These can leave wreckage behind, abandoned ships or space stations that need to be recovered for their residual value. Salvagers are commissioned to recover these wrecks, take the risks and get the , sometimes, high rewards. The salvagers are often the flotsam and jetsam of the war, finding the stability of peace a little to restricting and enjoying the danger of salavaging.
Bob Salley takes a familiar route in this story, a crew member causes a problem that needs to be resolved by the rest of the crew embarking on a dangerous salvage mission. When they arrive at their target there is significant trouble and getting out alive, let alone with any cargo becomes a significant problem. There is a really good reason these story lines are familiar, they work really well if the writer is committed enough to give them the room to work. Bob Salley has a confident grip on the plot mechanics and the genre requirements and gives the story momentum and a nice tension. The reveals are neatly staged, the action is fast and very well staged, the crew have the energy needed to register with the reader as individuals.
The art by George Acevedo, Chris Gevenois, Eric Godeau is a pleasure to read and it captures all of impaction’s and context necessary for the story to work. The context details are critical, they create a sufficiently different location planet side and on board the space ships to ground the story in a solid physical reality. The cast move through the context with confidence, they are strongly expressive and sufficiently varied to give a sense of the variety of lifeforms in the galaxy. The leading female character is physically likely, tough and engaging enough to never be walk on eye candy. The aliens are more or less humanoid bipeds, there is enough variety to keep the mix interesting without ever creating a problem for action when needed.
The colouring by George Acevedo, Chris Gevenois, Eric Godeau is wonderful, it brings out the details of the art in a quiet and subtle way, it gives the story depth and force that it should have. The lettering by HdE is quiet, the sound effects are not both flow naturally with the story and art without ever distracting from either.
Saying a story is a really good example of a genre always seems like damming with faint praise and that is the opposite of what I intend. Grasping genre requirements forcefully in a story and using them effectively is a rare talent, delivering the thrill that a space opera fan like myself is looking for is a tough job to pull off. All of the creators on this book work strongly to deliver a vivid engaging story. A treat for science fiction comic fans.
