Spaceman (AAA Pop)

    (AAA Pop, 2002)
™ and © AAA Pop

Mike Allred’s series The Atomics may have come to an end, but at least Allred is letting fans down easy. Following the It Girl spin-off from a few months back comes Spaceman, again co-published by AAA Pop and Oni Press.

And fans should be happy; they’re treated to Allred’s usual dead-on homage to a blend of 1950s science-fiction and 1960s Silver Age classics. But this time the look is tremendously enhanced by the gorgeous computer-generated backgrounds of animator Lawrence Marvit. The backgrounds themselves are an amalgamation of antique futurism as rendered by 21st century technology, and the result of this unlikely pairing is some of the most beautiful comic art seen in some time: beautiful in both its simplicity and its breathtaking design.

And, while the story is clearly a tribute to classic stories of a couple of generations ago, this is not to say that it simply treads water and is content to be solely a tribute. Along with the familiar elements are enough surprises and developments to make this an entertaining story in its own right. Allred carefully ensures that the writing isn’t overshadowed by the art.

Yeah, Spaceman’s ship has to land on a strange planet for repairs and, yeah, he encounters a strange race of aliens who speak English and, yeah, he agrees to recover a lost artifact for them. It’s all been done before, but so what? It’s never been done like this.

— Jim Johnson
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#1

July, 2002
Cover Price: $2.95
2 copies available from $8.00 		Mike AllredMike Allred, Lawrence Marvit