Onyx #1
Publisher: IDW
Writer: Chris Ryall
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez & Jay Fotos
Cover: Gabriel Rodriguez
Onyx is pure science fiction fun and action that plays in a familiar sandbox but still maintains a flavor all it’s own. As Ryall and Rodriguez waste no time in setting up this story and then literally dropping you into the madness that has become the planet Earth in the year 2083. The overpopulated planet has just received two new guests and if one isn’t stopped in time then it’s total destruction regardless of who wins.
Ryall, introduces our main cast as one of the military/science teams sent to investigate the crash site. It’s your standard array of hard as nails types mixed in with your overly excited science crew who always seem too happy when it comes to alien life crashing on our planet. There’s a few interesting characters among the bunch but it’s Abigail “Loner” Aquino who gets the most development. She has special abilities that force her to not be very social with the rest of the team but they in turn mock and ostracize her as well. Onyx herself is just great and Ryall uses her to further explain the reason for the invasion and sets up everything without slowing the story down to a crawl. He keeps the tension right there and you don’t know what to expect as the action kicks back in.
If you’re familiar with the stellar visuals from Rodriguez and Fotos on Locke & Key then you can expect more of that right here. Onyx is one of the better looking titles that came out this week from the futuristic cityscape of Lagos, Nigeria to the character designs, it’s page after page of visual cool. The amount of fine detail heightens everything and makes for a richer visual experience. I’ll also add that Onyx’s design is a personal favorite because it has elements of ROM and he’s always been a favorite of mine. So it was great to see that the character had some influence due to Ryall liking (that is an understatement) the character as well.
If you are looking for something new to start reading then Onyx should be on your pull list. The creative team have a great first issue here that is immersed in a lot of what is good about the genre. Having nothing to go on about this title other than some sketches tweeted out by Gabriel Rodriguez and a love for science fiction, Onyx ended up in my read pile and I couldn’t have been happier. It is always satisfying to take a chance on a title and not only come away excited but wanting to read the next issue immediately!
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