Dark Matter #3
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writers: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
Artist: Garry Brown
Colorist: Ryan Hill
The revelation that the amnesiac crew has been sent to destroy and not help the colony on the planet isn’t a good feeling. Well, at first everyone seems to not be down with it, but one member of the crew seems to have different feelings when the company flashes some money in her face. One of the mysteries is the identity of the young boy that was aboard the ship. This is still in question after this issue, but it’s the one thing that really has me perplexed, so it just adds fuel to the fire.
As Portia is on the ship with the android, she wants to go back to not knowing the sad fact that the crew is actually a bunch of cold-blooded killers. On the surface, the townspeople tell the crew that they are going to throw them a party for all that they’ve done for them. While most of the crew is celebrating, Portia, the boy, and the android are surprised to see another ship enter the quadrant. They are immediately called on the radio, but they don’t answer. A smaller ship is sent down to the surface, and Portia tries to radio them right away, but it’s no use. They’re too worried about the next beer they are going to down in celebration! The ship lands, and a bunch of Nazi looking dudes get out of the plane. What happens next is absolute pandemonium, and will certainly lead to another cool issue next time!
Mallozzi and Mullie have quite a nice little book going here. Characters are somewhat accessible (still some good secrets, though), there’s a mystery surrounding the crew and their memories, the fact that you have bullets flying and swords swinging, and it’s all just the tip of the iceberg. This book hasn’t reached its potential yet, but it sure seems as though the climax is right around the corner. My only gripe would be that I want to see more creepiness with the little boy. He seems to have some memory loss like the others, but don’t be fooled, he knows something he’s not talking about.
Garry Brown seems to really know how to set the scene for this space drama. The characters all have their own distinct traits physically, but the uniforms make them blend in a bit. It’s not a bad thing, but just something that I noticed. The color palette used is a little drab, but it works pretty well for this book. If it were any other book, I probably wouldn’t like it. During one action scene, there is some blood that gets spilled and it’s the perfect compliment to the rest of the book as far as the colors go. There are bits and pieces from a few movies in this story, and for some that may be a turn-off. It isn’t for me, so I’ll keep reading, because this book isn’t boring and has me intrigued to see what the explanation is for the memory loss, the android’s actions when they first woke up, and that creepy little kid! Rating 3.5/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
