- Max Orbit #1
- Written & illustrated by Phillip Q. Hudson
- Colors by Michael Woods
- Letters by Toben Racicot
- Cover A by Phillip Q. Hudson
- Cover B by Mel Milton
- Coming soon to Kickstarter
May the icky tentacled space-gods strike me down and feed on my life force if I think we don’t have nearly enough old-fashioned sci-fi shoot-em-ups. Also, I think I might’ve used my entire hyphen quota in that opening sentence. Gonna have to watch it from here on.
Enter adventurous twins, Min & Max (heh), two rough-and-tumble (that’s it, no more hyphens) siblings traveling the spaceways and pulling the odd jobs where they find them, usually as bounty hunters and treasure seekers. Along the way, they’re also searching for clues to their lost homeworld. Min & Max are joined by the galaxy’s best girl, Koda the canine companion who may be the most mature of the group.
Writer Phillip Q. Hudson looks to be putting together the kind of rolling story that got me into comics, many (so many) years ago. I do have to point out that the target audience might be a little confusing. The protagonists are 15 years old, with a dog who has the potential to be at least as interesting as they are, and they make their lives on the fringes of a system that’s pushed them aside. Those plot devices have spawned countless franchises aimed at “tween” audiences, but that ain’t the driving force behind Max Orbit. Some of the themes skew a little more mature (brief nudity, brushes with bigotry, and bad guys who could’ve popped out of a sci fi/steampunk version of Inglourious Basterds).
Some of that thematic confusion may be twisted up in Hudson’s artistic style. He’s got a cartoony spin to his illustrations, and I’ll swing back to the story’s best girl, Koda, as another example. Hudson puts so much personality into her face that she could be mistaken for a lovable pooch in a Disney movie (can I say that without all the lawyers coming at me?). Overall, it’s a great-looking book, with interesting and thought-out characters (Sorry, had a couple more hyphens in me) populating a harsh galaxy where everyone is forced to sink or swim. But… in space.
Parents, this may not be the comic for younger readers hinted at on the cover. There are themes skewing mature within these pages, but once the kids have gone to sleep with their visions of dancing candies, the rest of us might wanna break this one open. Sitting atop the rolling adventure is a hidden story of lost people and the pull of finding a place to belong. Max Orbit is classic pulp sci-fi action with room to grow within its pages, and the attitude of a shot of Red Bull & Jack.
Final Score: 10/13
