ZANADU REVIEWS

DARK MATTER #1

(W) Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie  (A) Garry Brown

In the infinite abyss that is deep space, 6 doomed souls awaken from cryosleep to find themselves on a ship with no memory of who they are or how they got on board. Throw in a murderous Albino android and you've got what sounds to be a pretty cool idea for a comic. Unfortunately, the execution was not as smooth as I would have liked.

Using a very standard and archetypal cast, the writers, Mallozzi and Mullie, attempt to evoke the creepiness of the first Alien film, but are bogged down by the inability to smoothly flow from one scene to the next. Because of this, they are unable to build the tension that is necessary to create successful space horror stories. You do get a basic sense of who each character may be, but at the same time, it is exactly what you would expect just from looking at them. I'm hoping that in future issues, the writers play with these stereotypes to produce the betrayals and intrigue that was promised in the solicitation.

Aside from the character designs, Garry Brown's art was sufficiently gritty and dark, creating a cold and hostile feeling that echoes what the characters are experiencing. It reminded me of early Sean Phillips and I expect that Brown will progress quite nicely over the next few issues.

All in all, I am curious to find out how bad things get, and hopefully the crew will slowly descend into madness as each new layer of the mystery is revealed.

2.5 OUT OF 5 Z'S

REVIEW BY CASEY!