Stellarlands #1 is a comic written by Max Ferrada with art by Ben Worrell and colors by Wilson Go. A woman with superhuman abilities is sent on a mission to an inhabited moon. This is a sci-fi tale taking place in the future where there are many different species and intergalactic conflicts. The leading lady for this tale is called Anvil Liza, she can fly at what appears to be lightspeed, can breathe in space, and has a high level of invulnerability. Along her journey she will meet some interesting people who view her differently. The story begins with a mission briefing before she goes off to get the job done. A couple of the themes here are about truth and common enemies. The action here is more gory than bloody but it isn’t frequent. The pacing is slow as conversations carry this comic and there is plenty to glean from the interactions between the different characters. The tone goes back and forth from serious to lighthearted with the intensity really only ramping up during combat scenes. There are a quite few wordy pages. This is a comic that is built with of all the necessary sci-fi trappings and is paired up with a story that will have you contemplating a few things when it is all said and done.

            The art here will remind you of 70’s and 80’s comics and it goes well with the story. The coloring is realistic when possible but seeing as this involves non-human species and locations across space there are some colors we wouldn’t see normally. The scenery is mostly snow and the main location is an iced-out facility with an atmosphere of cold you can feel. The backgrounds here are about a panel short of perfection when it comes to having parts of the scene in them, this keeps you locked into each page and every moment. The expression level is here is slightly above-average which is great to see in a comic with so much conversation. Looks can change on a panel-by-panel basis which range from sadness to anger and confusion to disgust. The faces have strongly drawn features with the prerequisite stress lines and the like so all the looks they show tend to come across clearly. The equipment here is of standard space fare with laser guns and small but powerful spacecraft. The action here consists of gunplay and physical moments with scenes being spread throughout this comic. There is more gore than blood but there isn’t too much of either. White jackets and space suits are the primary gear here.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like sci-fi comics starring a woman that are more focused on story than action and features alien characters than this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Gore, death.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“We wish we didn’t, you talk a lot, but we understand you.”

 

Purchase Link: https://comx.shop/product/stellarlands-1?removed_item=1

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comxstudio/stellarlands-part-1-of-8/description

 

***** I received this review copy for free. *****

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 42

Violent Pages: 19, for 45% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – mainly 3 but one page is a 5

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 4

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”