Written by: Chris Ryall
Art by: Gabriel Rodriguez, Jay Fotos (Colours)
Publisher: IDW
Onyx #1 is a gritty science fiction comic that pulls no punches in its delivery—throwing you deep in the action before you’ve had a chance to breathe. The world is hugely overpopulated and after a meteor hits the earth, it is up to an alien in a metal suit to save humanity from a hideously dangerous threat.
I absolutely loved this issue; the way in which the action flows from page to page is expertly executed and it never feels rushed—in fact, the pacing couldn’t be better. You feel as though you are there—one of the soldiers tasked with taking on whatever is lurking in the shadows (I won’t ruin anything, but the enemy is seriously cool—in a terrifying and mutated kind of way). Granted, the only real character with any kind of personality is Abigail “Loner” Aquilo, who is suffering from great psychological pain (Well done to Shawn Lee on the letters for these panels—the thoughts of all of Aquilo’s teammates surround her and adds to the claustrophobic nature of her affliction), but I’m sure as the story progresses, we will find out a lot more about the rest of the marines; for now though, they’re just a regular atypical, ragtag bunch of soldiers with clashing personalities. As for the comic’s namesake, Onyx is a well-written, ambiguous character—she brings a dynamic to the story that ends up asking a lot of questions—leaving General Harold Mount questioning the alien’s true intentions, and you as the reader may still be on the fence by the end of the comic. Chris Ryall has written an engrossing and exciting issue that holds out lots of promise for the future of the series; the overarching threat isn’t a unique one, but it still works well as a threat and I was most definitely on tenterhooks as I read through it.
The art is stunning. The volatile nature of this vision of Earth is brought to life by the detail in every panel—it is clear, concise and smooth—giving the whole issue a fine purity to it. Jay Fotos has made the illustrations come alive and the simplicity in the colour palette adds to the hopelessness of a world on the brink of extinction—I will be looking forward to see how Jay and Gabriel work together to bring the characters and the world to life.
Onyx #1 is what I want from science fiction; it hits all the right spots and brings a real depth to a future that we are seemingly close to. I just hope that the story stays strong and doesn’t deviate too much from its well-cemented foundation. Well done, guys and bring on issue two!
