Writer: Joseph Keatinge
Artist: Bret Blevins
Publisher: Image Comics
A lot is going on in Stellar #1. There are politics, war, human weapons, space, and time anomalies. All of that should have made for a great new read, but too many flaws hold this title back from being a must-buy.
First, there is the storytelling and worldbuilding aspect. Some interesting stuff is going on, but it’s mostly told through dialogue. There are flashback panels, but they are not the most exciting. The dialogue feels flat and unrealistic, and the title character is very, very boring for what she’s supposed to be. On the plus side, the pacing is overall well done. Speech bubbles flow well on the page.
The next aspect to consider is the art. The opening page is beautiful, but sets the book up for disappointment. In too many places does the art become amateurish, with the nicer art making it stick out more. Worse than that, are way too many times when the art just does not reflect the weight of what is actually happening. The worst offender of this is the final page. A good first issue should always have a strong closer to draw people into the series. Based on the dialogue and story, this page should have been an epic ending. However, the drop in art quality and generic poses and faces ruined it.
The people involved with this book are better than what they put out here, and can hopefully turn this into something. There are too many sci-fi space stories out there to compete with, that just being “okay” doesn’t cut it.
To end on a positive note, the potential is there for something great. If these flaws can be addressed, they could have a new hit Image title.
