Spaceman #5

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

Here we have yet another very strong issue of Azzarello and Risso's futuristic child abduction mini-series.  Spaceman is a bit of an odd beast - at its core, it's a story about acceptance of people's differences, but that theme is wrapped in a comic that is linguistically challenging and visually impressive.

Orson, the genetically-adapted 'Spaceman' of the title has, through some strange circumstances, ending up being the protector of Tara, a reality TV child star who was abducted from her adoptive actor parents.  The search for her has become a national obsession, even though her safety is starting to seem secondary to the ratings her continued absence is worth.

Orson is an absolute outcast, living in and off of the wreckage of a major city, and while he tries to do right by Tara and keep her safe, he's learning that he has no one to turn to.  The woman whom he has been paying for virtual sex anonymously tries to take the child from him in this issue, and she in turn unknowingly gives some important clues to the other Spaceman that has been hired to hunt Tara down. We are learning more and more about Orson's time on Mars, and this issue shows the circumstances that got one other Spaceman killed. 

Azzarello has been having a great time developing the unique lingua franca of this story, and continues to use his projected slang to differentiate between classes in Orson's society.  It's clear that much more work has gone into constructing this series than is immediately apparent on the surface.  As always, Risso is an able collaborator for Azzarello, making the future look much as he makes it sound.  Highly recommended.