Farscape #24

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

I came late to Farscape, discovering the show Sunday afternoons on a cable station a few years back, but thanks to the twin magics of DVD and EBay, I quickly acquired all four seasons and the Peacekeeper Wars mini-series that wrapped the story up.  I really grew to love the characters on this show, a diverse group of escaped convicts from different species, and the crazy and improbable situations they kept finding themselves in.  The series was a lot of fun, and had a lot of heart.

When I'd heard that Boom Comics was starting up a series of mini-series, co-written (or at least co-plotted) by the series's creator, I knew I'd be interested.  Like many a licensed comic, the earliest issues suffered from very stiff art, but the early stories were a treat.  It was nice to see familiar characters again, and unlike the Buffy Season Eight comics, they tended to stay in character.

After the mini-series approach gave way to an on-going series (and eventual spin-off featuring Scorpius), O'Bannon and DeCandido crafted a larger narrative around the idea of a new race, the Kkore, coming through a rift in space to conquer the Uncharted Territories.  This led to a twelve-issue arc that concluded with this issue.

During this arc, just about every world was subjugated to Kkore control, Aerynn Sun became the Commandant of the Peacekeepers and commanding officer to the large coalition of survivors and resisters.  Chiana found true love (with a bounty hunter hired to kill Aerynn and John Crichton's son), and a number of favourite characters met their final fate.

This story could never have been told on television, yet it felt, at every step, like classic Farscape.  DeCandido really nailed the different characters' voices, and among all the space opera bombast, found time to work in some good character-driven moments.  The art, by Will Sliney, worked well for character based scenes, although I never liked the way he drew spaceships.

There are some plot threads that were left unresolved.  We never did learn why Roiin was hunting Deke, Crichton's son, and the story potential of all worlds being left in a state of chaos is vast, but in the end, this was a satisfying run for this comic.  I would not object to the Farscape universe being revisited again some day.

Farscape #10

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

I just recently re-watched the fourth season of Farscape, and followed that up with the Peacekeeper Wars, which served as a nice refresher on the state of the Farscape galaxy before reading this issue of the now very good Farscape comic.

In this issue, Chricton and Aeryn, along with the PK deserter Captain and her Lieutenant scout out the weapons that Commandant Grayza is preparing to sell to the Grennij, who are advance troops for a larger invasion force crossing an inter-dimensional divide. Later, the gang meets with Grayza, which always works well, as she must be an insanely fun character to write, so full of certainty and hubris.

As I've written a few times recently, this comic has gotten very good since it became an on-going series.  DeCandido has these characters down pat, and it's cool to see the way he and O'Bannon are working in the series' history to recent events.  A good example of that comes in this issue, where the commerce planet they visit is the same one that was visited in the very first episode of the show.

Most interesting to me is the way in which Aeryn is developing her own vision of what the Peacekeepers should be.  It's been clear that she never really accepted leaving the service, and now that she has discovered her spiritual side through studying the Books of Yemahl, it is nice to see her work to implement her vision.

Farscape #9

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith R.A. DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

Having recently gotten caught up on this series, and having watched a few episodes from Season 4 again, I think I'm going to need to add this comic to my pull-list.  Some of the earlier story arcs were good, but suffered from the usual curse of the licensed property - substandard art and slighty wonky stories.

With the last couple of arcs, this comic has really come into its own, and this issue, which starts the 'Compulsions' art has all the hallmarks of the best Farscape episodes: strife among the crew (Chiana), strange transformations (Noranti), spiritual awakenings (Aerynn, for a change), a big villain (the Grennij), and Peacekeepers up to no good (Grayza's carrier makes an appearance, even if she's not shown up yet).

Add this to some nice character moments involving the crew of the Cilla, the Leviathan that has joined Moya, and this looks like it would make an epic episode.  Will Sliney's art has improved quite a bit since he came on the title, and this book is really starting to satisfy my craving for new episodes of Farscape.

Farscape #5-8

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith R.A. DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

This series just keeps improving, with these four issues being the best of the Boom Farscape comics I've read so far.  In this arc, which has the crew of Moya responding to a distress call on Pilot's home planet, the creators have best captured the feel of the original TV show.

Issue five opens with four double-page splash panels, narrated by one of the five main characters on Moya (Jothee and Sikozu share their pages).  These pages are exceptionally well written, and help to establish some of the changes that these characters are experiencing as their stories continue.  The biggest change, as is usual in Farscape, is in Aeryn, who has been questioning many things since being exposed to ancient Sebacean religion in the last arc.

In no time, the crew gets the distress call from Pilot's homeworld, which he is prepared to ignore, but Moya overrules him, and soon our heroes are working with a group of deserter Peacekeepers to protect Pilot's race from an invading force of Grennij, strange aliens that came through a portal to this world.

Among all the action of these issues is a terrific sub-plot involving Pilot's shame surrounding how he came to be on Moya.  He does not want to face his family, and the scenes where this happens are handled beautifully.  I've been resisting buying this series on a monthly basis, but if it's going to stay at this level of quality, I feel I'm going to have to add it to my pull-list very soon.

Farscape #1-4

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith R.A. DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

I've been trying to pick up more of the Farscape series because I loved the show, and have enjoyed most of the Boom comics that have continued the stories of Moya and her crew ever since.

These four issues encompass the 'Tangled Roots' story arc that launched the on-going series.  In it, Crichton and Aeryn split up as they go on two separate missions, both related to their son Deke.  Crichton and Chiana try to track down Roiin, the bounty hunter that has been chasing them since the beginning of the Boom series.  To figure out who hired him, Chiana poses as a young woman that is interested in him, and the two of them spend some quality time together.  Unexpectedly, Chiana develops some serious feelings for him.

At the same time, Aeryn tracks down her former fellow Peacekeepers to see if she had ever been exposed to any nerve agents or gasses that may be accountable for the presence of a strange gland on Deke's spine.  She ends up on Prybella, a pacifist Sebecean colony, where she runs into Velorek, her former lover, and the parents of Captain Crais.  Things get a little weird here, as the story involves pure-blood Sebeceans (it is odd to me that a people so concerned with contamination would not have more pure-bloods), religion, and a deeply ingrained aversion to open conflict.

This is a good story, although some of the story elements don't feel completely true to the spirit of the original show.  It seems to lack the madcap spontaneity that I grew to expect from Farscape.  I hope that is something that develops as the book progresses.

That said, I enjoyed reading this story, and feel that Chiana's easily-conflicted nature is portrayed nicely.  I do look forward to finding out who hired Roiin eventually.

Farscape: D'Argo's Quest #1-4

Written by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Art by Caleb Cleveland

Set between the third and fourth seasons of Farscape, this story follows D'Argo as he heads out to track down Macton Tal, his brother-in-law and the murderer of D'Argo's wife.  Working off information he received from the Peacekeepers, he's arrived on the planet T'Lohrcate, where he's just chilling at a Sebacean bar, waiting for Tal to arrive.

Instead of finding his prey, he is instead found by Raxil, the annoying alien drug dealer that starred in the season three episode 'Scratch 'N' Sniff', which was one a huge cult favourite.

Raxil needs D'Argo to work for her as muscle in a Freslin sale, although they quickly end up in enforcement custody, before being used to infiltrate a criminal organization that holds the whole planet hostage.

This is a good, quickly-paced, amusing story.  DeCandido has a good ear for Raxil's speech patterns, and manages to capture the unique mix of anger, nobility, and humour that is Ka D'Argo.  Cleveland's art is very good; he manages to draw the characters convincingly, while avoiding the stiffness of most licensed comics.

Farscape: D'Argo's Lament

Written by Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Neil Edwards and Juan Castro

When I originally saw that Boom was going to be publishing comics based on Farscape, I decided that I'd read the issues that were continuations of the series, and that had a high degree of involvement from Rockne O'Bannon, the series creator. The ancillary titles, such as the D'Argo comics set between episodes of the show could be skipped, as they 'didn't matter', in my thinking.

My opinion of that changed when I started reading D'Argo's Trial, which I've been enjoying quite a bit (despite my unwillingness to pay full price for it). So, when I saw this book at a used book store, I figured it was worth the risk. And now, I know I was right the first time.

This story is set back when D'Argo was first learning to pilot his ship Lo'la (not that it factors into the story), and he and Jool go off on a supply run. In typical Farscape fashion, they quickly get caught up in a battle for supremacy between two mob lieutenants on a planet where Moya's crew bumped off their leader a year previous (and in a short story by DeCandido also included in the book, more about which later).

It sounds like a good enough set-up for a good Farscape story, although a lot of important elements are missing, notably proper characterization of D'Argo and Jool. Their blossoming friendship was a key component of the episode that supposedly precedes this story, yet that is not touched upon at all here.

The art in the book is pretty bad. The aliens seem to be naked squid and snail people, and backgrounds are barely rendered. The art appears very rushed and stiff, completely unlike the excellent work done on the Trials mini-series.

The story included in the back reads like straight-up fan fiction, where DeCandido has taken the Return of the Jedi Jabba the Hut plot, and translated it into a Farscape story. When Chrichton impersonates a Peacekeeper officer, his fake name is not even given, just used by the narrator a few paragraphs later.

My final complaint is that the covers of the original issues are not included in the hardcover. I hate when companies do that, especially when each issue had two or three covers to begin with. Looking at them on-line, I see that they would have been the best art in the book.

Farscape: D'Argo's Trial #2

Written by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Art by Caleb Cleveland

Continuing with my attempts to catch up with the Farscape comics, I snatched up the second issue in the second D'Argo mini-series. This issue details Jothee's birth, and all of its surrounding events, up until the death of Lolann. A few pages here are simply retreads of things shown in the show - the episode where D'Argo finally confronts Macton in particular, but in this setting, they are shown with more context and chronology, adding emotional weight to them.

This title lacks much of the humour of the tv show or the main title, but given the subject matter, that seems quite appropriate. Cleveland continues to be the best of the Farscape artists - faithful to general appearances, but not afraid to add his own artistic flourishes.

Farscape: D'Argo's Trial #1

Written by Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Caleb Cleveland
I can never seem to decide to stick with Boom's Farscape series or not. From the outset, I decided that the mini-series that were set between or before episodes of the show were going to be skippable - I have an interest in what Rockne O'Bannon had planned for the characters were the show not canceled, but have learned from regrettable liscensed comics purchases in the past that the ones that fill in the gaps are usually superfluous.

But then, I bought this book today, and its maybe the best Farscape comic I've read so far. This mini-series takes us into D'Argo's past, and chronicles his relationship with Lo'Lann, his wife. The story is very well-researched, reconciling some facts that were scattered throughout the four seasons of the show. We see the progression from D'Argo's impersonation of a general (to save his life) to the unlikely courtship of a Luxan warrior and a Sebacean farmgirl. DeCandido has a good feel for the character's nobility and stubbornness, and isn't playing this title for laughs (making it a little unlike the show, but maintaining a clear respect for the source material).

The best surprise in this book though is the art. The other artists, some of whom I've liked, all suffer to one degree or another from the stiff drawing that seems to be endemic to licensed properties. Caleb Cleveland's work is free and open, and does a great job of capturing the likenesses of the three characters familiar to us from the show. More than that though, he crafts a beautiful comic, reminding me of Marian Churchland's recent work on Elephantmen. His colours do not match the usual Farscape pallette, but to my mind, that aids the book in representing a different era in D'Argo's life.

Farscape: Gone and Back #1

Written by Rockne S O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Tommy Patterson, Nick Schley and Michael Babinski

Alright, so I'd decided that I was just going to tradewait Farscape from this point on, but when I got the chance today to get the first issue for half price, I decided it was too good a deal to pass up (see - I'd buy way more comics if they were all $2 again).

This is a good book. The premise is a little shaky - John ends up in a parallel or 'unrealized' reality, where Zhaan and D'Argo are still around, he's married to someone other than Aeryn, and there's another bumpy-headed alien named Coron living on Moya. I'm not sure why the writers keep dipping into the old Star Trek plot-vault, especially when the TV series was so good at coming up with fresh ideas, but they do play this one out quite well.

Patterson's art has improved since his introductory arc, although there aren't a lot of external ship views, which seems to be his biggest weakness.

Farscape: Strange Detractors #4

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

I understand that O'Bannon and crew are looking to do all sorts of things in the comic version of Farscape that they couldn't in the TV show, but I'm starting to think that the effects are driving the story.

In this issue, John goes on a Fantastic Voyage with a bunch of anti-bodies into Aeryn's system, to get rid of the Anger Virus which was affecting her translator microbes. Somehow, translator microbes are in the stomach, because once the man-shaped anit-bodies killed the man-shaped viruses, they got puked out.

What follows is a hasty spread of the air-borne antibodies through the vacuum of space, in a couple of pages. Really, the ending was disappointing here. I think that, had the writers confined the outbreak to the commerce planet and the ships that left it, the story would have stayed much more credible. Including the Peacekeepers, Scarrans, and Hynerians just muddied up the plot.

Beyond that, this is still a decent issue. I am enjoying seeing the characters back in action, although I think I'm going to jump ship with this issue. The next mini-series is an alternate-world one, and at $16 for the whole thing, I think I might just pop in some old Farscape DVDs, and wait for the eventual trade to show up cheap on Ebay.

Farscape: Strange Detractors #3

Written by Rockne O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney
This issue explains the reason why everyone in the universe has gone nuts (without explaining how any disease can travel so far so quickly), and once again, leaves it up to Crichton to fix things. He's aided in this by a couple of familiar faces - namely Grunchlk and Sikozu, both last seen in the Peacekeeper Wars.

As it turns out, the Diagnosian who Moya was travelling to had been experimenting with size-changing, therefore somehow creating a sentient virus that affects peoples' translator microbes, making them all angry. Why do explanations like that make more sense when they were on the Farscape tv show than they do in the Farscape comic? Are there different levels of suspension of disbelief for each media? And why does it seem like comics need a higher level of burden of proof?

Regardless, this continues to be a fun comic. I especially like how the story checks in on Commandant Grazya and Emporer Staleek, to show how the virus is affecting them.

I've enjoyed this Farscape arc more than I did the first (I'm skipping the ones that happen in the past), but haven't decided if I'm going to stick around for the third. I think the art will play the biggest role in that, as these titles seem to suffer from the usual problems of licensed books.... That said, I've been enjoying Sliney's looser style of portraying these characters.

Farscape: Strange Detractors #2

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

This Farscape series continues to feel very much like an episode of the show - not a terribly consequential one, but one of the fun ones that focus a lot on character.

The pace is quick and the writing witty (except I still kind of hate Crichton). The strange disease that has infected the crew is making everyone angry, and minor annoyances are spiraling out of control into huge, often violent, conflicts.

What is strange is that the disease has somehow spread to Hyneria and Rygel's palace, which doesn't make a lot of sense, and seems to add an unnecessary element to the plot, but I suppose it remains to be seen where it will lead.

Farscape: Strange Detractors #1

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith R.A. DeCandido
Art by Will Sliney

Now this is more like it. I found the first Farscape series from Boom! to be a disappointment - there was way too much plot squeezed into four issues, I hated that Scorpius was causing trouble again 15 minutes after the end of the Peacekeeper Wars, and the art was really stiff and hard to follow.

This issue here felt much more like an episode of the TV show - one of the stranger ones too. The plot is right out of Star Trek - something's making the crew act weird. It's not very original, but it does provide O'Bannon the opportunity to work out his kinks on characterization, and to explore the new status quo created by D'Argo's death, and Jothee's and Deke's inclusion into the cast.

The art in this issue is much looser than in the previous mini-series. The characters may not look exactly like the actors at all times, but it's easy enough to tell who is who (except I kept wondering if I was looking at the new Luxan or Jothee), and there is a lot more creativity to the way in which action is portrayed.

It seems that the creators of the comic are not looking to find any new converts to the Farscape mythos though. This comic required not just a general knowledge of the tv show, but an encyclopedic one, as I was struggling to remember what the different races hanging around on the commerce station (how do they call that a planet) were. In the long run, this might be a mistake, but it worked for me. I hope they find a large enough audience that they can be successful in this venture.

Farscape #1

Written by Rockne O'Bannon and Keith RA DeCandido
Art by Tommy Patterson

When I first read this comic, I was really not too sure if I liked it or not. I was happy to get a new Farscape story, especially since I'd read that its story fit with producer Rockne O'Bannon's plans for the series, had it continued, but something didn't work for me.

Now that I've read it a second time, I'm not sure what the basis for that earlier hesitation was all about. This is a good comic. On this second read, I could hear the characters' voices, and dialogue that had annoyed me before (like the conversation between John and Aeryn that results in the baby being nick-named Deke) was less awkward than I remembered it to be. This could be because I frequently got annoyed by Chrichton's forced 'down-homeisms' when watching the show too.

This book really does put the cast in familiar situations: their best laid plans are all falling apart again, someone is after them (I'm hoping it's not Scorpius - at least not until the third mini-series), and John and Aeryn are having trouble communicating. Noranti is played well for comic effect, as is Rygel. It's good to see Jothee and Chiana hooking up too, even if 53 times is a little much.....

The art on this book is serviceable. You can recognize the characters, creatures and settings, but it's not going to drop your jaw open. Again, this is a good book, and I'm glad I came around to it.