by: Jason Vaughn

Space… the final frontier… well, actually, for sci-fi comics, it’s more like the first, best, and only frontier. When I was a kid, outer space TV shows like “Buck Rogers” and “Star Trek” rocketed me light speed toward a geosynchronous orbit around syndicated fun and excitement. (Ok, “Star Trek” was due mostly to my dad’s “Ming the Merciless”-like despotic control over the remote control.  I grew up to be a “Star Wars” kid, go figure.)  Even though I’m referring to the reruns of the seventies and eighties, space cowboys and adventurers have been astonishing and scaring the crap out of the little kid in all of us since almost a decade before Superman ever lifted his first car on the cover of Action Comics.  So let’s take a look at two current books and one upcoming title with stories from a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Rescues #3 – Dark Horse (On sale now!)

Like I said above, I’ve been a “Star Wars” fan ever since I can remember.  (However, the prequels did make me question the sanity of that devotion each time I left the theater.)  The horrendous Jar Jar movies aside, in recent years I’ve found myself running to the arms of a different pusher by the name of Dark Horse in order to acquire my “Star Wars” fix.  I thoroughly enjoyed “Knights of the Old Republic” and duly look forward to John Jackson Miller’s new title “Star Wars: Knight Errant.”  Let’s not forget “Dark Times” which has its moments as a character driven piece that follows ex-Jedi-in-hiding Dass Jennir as he copes with life in a galaxy ruled by the newly founded Empire.  Unlike these other titles, “Star Wars: Rescues” features the original crew of Luke Skywalker and company, although several years in the future.  In this part of the “Star Wars” timeline, Luke has rebuilt the Jedi with a small band of knights; Han and Leia have twins (Jaina and Jacen) who are also under Luke’s tutelage as future Jedi; and a new, yet strange threat with unusual technology is invading the fragile Republic from parts unknown, the Yuuzhan Vong.  Not having read the “New Jedi Order” books (I stopped right after the second Timothy Zahn trilogy), I’m thrilled Dark Horse decided to do this series.  My only issue is this - get on with it already!  “Rescues” suffers from the same fatal flaw “Legacy” did – it was ungodly slow for a sci-fi action comic. Granted, “Legacy” took some set up due to its placement in the time line, but “Rescues,” and “Invasion” before it, has no such excuse yet suffers from the same plod-along pacing.  We know the “sandbox” by now.  Enough with the set up and let’s actually get to a major beat point already.  There are plenty of books in this series, so I’m not sure I see the need in dragging out the story to the point where Ambien-like sleep kicks in while I’m reading it.  As a fan, I’m on board for a few more issues because I do think the use of the Vong as the antagonist is a surprising change from the stand-by, overly used “Sith,” and also in hopes they’ll pick up the pacing a bit.

MGM Drive-In: “It! The Terror From Beyond Space” #1- IDW (On sale now!)

This book is the first of three special series updating classic sci-fi flicks.  This new title by IDW harkens back to the days of midnight B movie marathons when you had to keep the volume low out of fear you’d wake up your parents.  You know the type, a flick that Tom Servo, Crow and Joel would’ve made fun of on MST3K.  The story begins with the hastily assembled crew of the Challenge 142 en route to Mars on a rescue mission where they discover that the one lone survivor of the Challenge 141 may have killed the rest of his crew for the remaining rations.  Or at least that’s the way it appears until the survivor reveals they’re not alone on the red planet.  I love the retro-pulp feel of this title.  For example, how the book refers to their technology as “atomic engines” and the nod and wink to old school 50’s Hollywood with members of the crew smoking in an oxygen enriched environment.  I guess no one told the Captain Kirk-lite that offering a cigarette to an alien just after sex might blow up his cabin.  This book is cheeky, smarmy, and just cheesy enough to be considered a guilty pleasure.

Farscape: Scorpius #4 – Boom (Drops this Wednesday!)

There’s a growing trend these days for popular TV and movie properties to find renewed life in the world of graphic novels and comic books long after they’ve left the screen. Obvious examples are “Buffy,” “The Green Hornet,” “Die Hard,” “Charmed,” “Blade Runner” (“Andriods…”), and “Farscape.”  “Farscape” was one of those shows that flew under my radar when it first debuted.  However, my introduction to this show is a day I’ll not likely ever forget.  In an effort not to make this column all morbid, I’ll just quickly say that if you ask someone from a previous generation where they were when JFK was shot, most would be able to tell you exactly the place, and could probably recall the following few days afterwards as well.  I had a similar experience on the day I first learned what a “translator microbe,” a “Luxan,” and a “Hynerian” were on September 12, 2001.  I vividly remember that day as I was walking to a friend’s house, thinking how odd it was not to see any con-trails in the sky from the neighboring airport.  Living in Atlanta at the time, which is close to one of, if not the, busiest airports in the world, it was an extremely unusual sight not to see a single plane in the sky.  After I arrived, my friend would soon put on a recorded episode of “Farscape” while looking at me in awe uttering “what, are you kidding me?  You haven’t seen it!?  This show is like ‘The Muppets’ on acid.”  From that day forward, I was on board with John Crighton, the ultimate fish out of water, and his desperate attempt to get home to Earth while trying to relate to these creatures he’s been forced to live with while on the run from the authorities.  If you were ever a fan of the show, I can tell you that you won’t be disappointed with this series.  Issue #4 in the “Farscape: Scorpius” prelude to “The War for the Uncharted Territories” is a great read.  The tone and feel of this arc is so reminiscent of the show, I feel like its Friday night and I’m watching TV when SyFy was still Sci-Fi (and didn’t have to steal their story ideas from hard-working filmmakers, but I digress… *cough* Drones! *cough*.) And it should have that sense of nostalgia since one of the writers is none other than series creator Rockne O’Bannon.  Along with fellow writer Alan Mack and art by Mike Ruiz, O’Bannon has managed to catch the heart of the series with a story following the twisted machinations of John Crichton’s arch nemesis Scorpius.  Up to his old tricks, Scorpius deceives, intimidates and manipulates his way into command of an invading armada from the “grey space” who have their sights set on destroying the Peacekeepers and setting up camp in “Scorpy’s” backyard.  For a prelude, this story has a smooth set-up and great jumping on point for any longtime fans who haven’t yet read the comics, or for the newbie who’s just dying to learn what “farbot” means.

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