Mystery in Space #1

Written by Duane Swierczynski, Andy Diggle, Ming Doyle, Ann Nocenti, Nnedi Okorafor, Steve Orlando, Robert Rodi, Kevin McCarthy, and Michael Allred
Art by Ramon Bachs, Davide Gianfelice, Ming Doyle, Fred Harper, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Francesco Trifogli, Sebastian Fiumara, Kyle Baker, and Michael Allred

There's nothing quite like a good anthology book, as I attest with each new issue of Dark Horse Presents.  Lately, Vertigo has also entered the anthology business, putting out a one-shot every quarter or so.  This one uses a space and science fiction theme, and it contains some very good stories, and some I could have done without.

What first struck me about this book is that it is largely made by people who I either don't associate with Veritgo comics (Duane Swierczynski, Ramon Bachs, and Kyle Baker), or by people that I am completely unfamiliar with (Nnedi Okorafor, Steve Orlando, Kevin McCarthy, Fred Harper, and Francesco Trifogli).

There are a couple of themes that keep being revisited in this book, such as a future where people lack control over their lives and actions, and stories that involve people not perceiving things properly.  These are good stories, and they are all told quickly.

I did have trouble getting through Okorafor and Kaluta's story about a carnivorous jungle (although it was lovely), and McCarthy and Baker's story of two cultures discovering a powerful new substance.  It was kind of tedious, and Baker drew it in the cartoon style of his that I don't actually enjoy.

I found that I most enjoyed Diggle and Gianfelice's story about revolution, Doyle's tale of love and
suspended animation, and Rodi and Fiumara's tale of love in a space junkyard.

Orlando and Trifogli's story about centaurs and self-determination was one of the most interesting, but also a little hard to follow.  I would like to see more of Trifogli's art.  I look forward to Vertigo doing another book like this soon, but would like to see a little more variety in terms of themes.

Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard

Written by Alan Moore
Adapted by Antony Johnston
Art by Lorenzo Lorente and Sebastian Fiumara
I first read Moore's prose story years ago, when it was published in the "Words Without Pictures" anthology, and it is the only story from that book that I remember today, although before reading this comic adaption from Avatar Press, I couldn't have told you what happened in it.

The story is set in The House Without Clocks, a specialized whore house in a fantasy city called Liavek. It's main character is Som-Som, a beautiful woman who has had her corpus callosum magically severed, and one hemisphere of her brain trapped away behind a porcelain haf-mask, to better prepare her for the job of ministering to the sexual needs of wizards (which thankfully, we don't learn too much about).

Som-Som's friend is Rawra Chin, a young tranvestite, who is in love with Foral Yatt, an actor who also lives in the House. Rawra Chin leaves Her lover to pursue a career in the theatre, and then returns to reignite the relationship. What follows is a study in jealousy, anger, and control. Both the comic adaption and the original prose story (included in this volume) are barocque pieces of work, dripping with eroticism and hurt.

Johnston has done a great job of condensing the story into comics form, and the two artists (for whatever reason, Lorente only completed the first chapter, Fiumara the rest) make good use of shadow and grey tones to both convey and hide emotion.