Written by: Michael Moreci
Art by: Vic Malhotra
Published by: Image
Well this was certainly an unexpected yet pleasant surprise. When I saw the cover of this book I was expecting something about space exploration or some deep journey, what I got felt like a bit of a cross between Firefly and Cowboy Bebop starring Nathan Drake in space. This is definitely a good thing, as Roche Limit stands among some of the best debuts for a new book at Image recently, which is no easy feat given the wealth of talent there.
Writer Micheal Moreci is a name that’ll probably be unfamiliar to many readers, but he absolutely knocks it out of the park in this first issue. The world he creates feels very elaborate and is definitely what stands out for me; the idea that space exploration got to a certain point and then just stopped feels very interesting, it approaches the ideas in a very real world and even slightly cynical way which feels interesting and fresh. There’s a very cool mythos Moreci seems to be building (even having in-world newspaper articles at the back of the book) so I can’t wait to see more of the world he’s creating here.
While the world definitely feels very cool and I want to explore more of it, Moreci doesn’t hold your hand at all and instead hits the ground running allowing you to pick up details as you go along. Lucky for us, the breakneck pace works thanks to the strength of our main character Alex Ford. Ford feels like a hero in a similar mould to Matt Fraction’s recent take on Clint Barton, a man who’s not exactly a perfect hero, yet always seems to have the upper hand and manages to be instantly likeable in spite of his flaws. He has shares the cynicism of the world around him yet still manages to be up for adventure and helps guide the reader through the frenetic pace of the story.
What holds the whole package together is the beautiful art of Vic Malhotra. His style is very versatile, it’s suitably grand and epic when showing us the vast reaches of the cosmos though also manages to showcase the gritty mean streets of Roche Limit. He even delivers a pretty creepy dream sequence which, as Ford puts it, “will seriously **** with your brain”. Malhotra and Moreci work perfectly in sync to create this world and both bring their A-game.
This is definitely a series worth checking out, Image have been delivering hit after hit recently and Roche Limit stands among the best of them. Both creators here have so much potential and they seem to be doing very cool things with this book. I’ll definitely be checking out the future issues of this book as well as whatever these guys do next, they’ve both made a new fan.
