Spaceman #9

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

Spaceman is a very cool comic.  It is set in a world feeling the effects of environmental collapse, where the rich live in walled communities (called the Dries), and everyone else lives in flood-ravaged ruins of former cities.  Our hero is Orson, a 'spaceman', the result of a genetic engineering program.  He looks more like a neanderthal than a man, and has great strength and resilience.

He has stumbled into a kidnapping plot involving Tara, a young girl who has a key role on a reality show called The Ark, which involves a pair of movie stars adopting children from around the world.  Orson rescues Tara from her kidnappers, and finds himself now the target of any number of factions.

This final issue has Orson and his fellow Spaceman Carter working to free Tara just as the police descend on her new kidnapper's location.  There is a lot of chaos.

What has made this series stand out is Azzarello's use of his own invented English slang.  People speak a patois that is easily understood, and clearly extrapolated from how we speak today, and it's pretty fascinating.  Azzarello has become quite fond of puns and word games (read any issue of his amazing Wonder Woman), and it wasn't until the very end of the issue that I became aware of the one being used in Tara's name.

Eduardo Risso is always an amazing artist, and when working on Azzarello's scripts, he shines particularly brightly.  Vertigo has seemed to have diminished in the last couple of years, but they are still putting out some of the best new comics out there, and this is definitely a title that deserves as much acclaim as Azzarello and Risso's 100 Bullets did.

Spaceman #8

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

Leave it to Brian Azzarello to give us the first instance of crowd-sourcing software being used to pay a ransom.  The thugs who have Tara - a star of a reality TV webcast about adopted children and their celebrity adoptive parents - use a Kickstarter-like program to ask the show's audience to pay for her safe return.  Of course, in Azzarello's post-environmental collapse future, much like in our own time, people would probably rather see her die, and would prefer not to pay too much for their entertainment.

What the thugs who have her don't know is that various groups are descending upon them.  Orson, her former protector, and the titular Spaceman (a genetically modified human) is now working with fellow Spaceman Carter to get her back, although which of them would get her at that point hasn't been decided yet.  As well, the producers of the TV show, now working uneasily with the police, are also on their way.

Azzarello ups the tension throughout the issue, which makes a lot of sense, as it all ends next month.  I've really enjoyed the way Azzarello has played with language and slang in this comic, but he has also managed to create a number of characters whose stories I feel invested in.  Risso, as always, is brilliant. 

Spaceman #7

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

We're getting near the end of Azzarello and Risso's science fiction reality TV child abduction genetic engineering epic, and a lot happens in this issue.

Through the flashbacks, we learn more about the connection between our hero, Orson, and the 'spaceman' who is now pursuing him, Carter.  They were in a tough spot together once, and that kind of thing either builds a bond, or it creates a lasting hatred.  Guess how these two feel about each other.

In the middle of this struggle is Tara, the abducted child star of a reality webcast.  Orson is trying to protect her, but when he is distracted by Carter, another faction makes their move.  Meanwhile, the police decide that they've been strung along enough by Tara's adoptive parents, and shut down the broadcast. 

I've mentioned before how the story is really just a vehicle for Azzarello to experiment with future forms of slang, and a type of low-class argot.  That continues to be one of the more fascinating aspects of this comic for me, alongside Risso's bleak portrayal of the future.  This is a good series.

Spaceman #6

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

We are now two-thirds of the way through Azzarello and Risso's new series, and we finally get to see how the other half lives in this so-far dirty and bleak vision of the future.

Tara is a young girl who is one of the stars of a reality show centred around two famous actors and the multicultural group of children they have adopted, each of whom have passed through an American Idol like vetting process in the eyes of the nation.  Tara was kidnapped, and then rescued by Orson, the titular Spaceman who was genetically engineered to travel to and terraform Mars, and who now lives in a rough neighbourhood scouring a sunken city for salvageable garbage. 

A number of different interested parties have been circling around Tara and Orson since he took her under his wing, and now they, and the group of wharf rat kids that Orson hangs out with, are hatching a plot to return her home safely.  This involves their going to the 'Drise', the wealthy, walled-off part of America where the rich still live in comfort.  Orson's being followed by a film crew, and by another Spaceman, who is also looking to get Tara back.

Azzarello continues to build his own slang and futuristic argot for this comic, making it as linguistically fascinating as Risso makes it visually stunning.  This series is not being talked about enough - it is very, very good.

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.

Spaceman #4

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

There is a lot to like about Azzarello and Risso's Spaceman, but I find that the linguistics of the comic are what interest me the most.  In this broken-down future, American society has separated very cleanly along class lines, and that distinction is made obvious by language even more than it is in modern-day England.

Orson, the 'spaceman' who has rescued the reality TV child star Tara from kidnappers, and everyone in his world ('the dries') speak a slang extrapolated from current usage of text and instant messaging.  Orson's people 'ear' instead of 'hear', and 'brain' instead of 'think'.  Tara, and her celebrity actor adoptive parents, meanwhile, speak clear contemporary English, although they are also able to stoop to Orson's level.  Azzarello's approach is novel, consistent, and very well thought out.  Sure, this type of thing has been done before (Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, which was baldly plagiarized for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome springs to mind in a way that A Clockwork Orange does not), but not to this degree in comics.

In this issue, Orson has to deal with a little too much exposure.  The wharf rats that are his friends now know that he has Tara, while Lilly, the girl with whom Orson has virtual sex, discovers that he is a spaceman, a genetically engineered human, designed to travel to Mars.  Orson's next actions teach us a little about the social apartheid he's lived under, and the degree to which our current civilization has fallen apart in this series.

Azzarello is giving us a very thoughtful and well-planned comic, made all the better by Risso's exceptional visuals.  Great stuff.

Spaceman #3

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

Now that the characters and situation are established, this series is really starting to take off.

Orson is a 'spaceman', a genetically modified human designed for space exploration who now goes from salvage job to salvage job trying to make enough money to pay for his virtual sessions with a call girl, and to buy drugs.  On his most recent salvage, he came across Tara, a young girl who was kidnapped from her celebrity adoptive parents.

Basically, Tara's parents are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and their reality show about their large blended family is the most popular thing going, getting more views than any news broadcast.

Now Orson is trying to keep Tara safe, but doesn't really know what to do with her.  Her family are looking for her, and we start to get a better sense of the two police officers assigned to her case.  We also learn that someone who has a fair amount in common with Orson is going to be looking for her too.

This series is set in a fully realized future that is not too pretty.  Azzarello's invented forms of speech work remarkably well (I normally hate that kind of thing), and I've grown to really like Orson and the band of urchins he surrounds himself with.  Risso's work is incredible as always.

Spaceman #2

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

I don't understand why there hasn't been more discussion and hype for Spaceman.  Azzarello and Risso are an excellent team, and with this nine-part mini-series, they are doing something quite different from what they usually do.

Spaceman is about Orson, a genetically engineered or modified person who was originally intended to travel to Mars.  What we learn this issue is that the program that birthed him led to the complete shut-down of NASA amid complaints about 'playing god' and irresponsible spending.  Now, Orson makes a living running a small salvage operation.

It seems he has become embroiled in the kidnapping of a young reality TV star, as he rescues the girl and her kidnapper from a burning yacht.  This leads to an interesting and informative discussion, before things really hit the fan.

Azzarello's clearly having a lot of fun speculating on the slang of the future, having almost completely constructed a new language for this comic.  Risso is up to his usual tricks, giving us bizarre camera shots and lots of visual wizardry.  This book should have a much higher profile, as it is very good.

Spaceman #1

Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

It's been a while since 100 Bullets ended.  I only read the book in trade a while after it finished, and still, after reading this comic, I realize I have missed seeing Azzarello and Risso work together.  Sure, there was the Batman Flashpoint mini-series that they did this last summer, but that was more of an appetizer than anything else.  Now, they've returned to Vertigo, where they belong, with Spaceman, a nine-part series.

Spaceman is about Orson, a genetically engineered person who was designed and built to work on Mars.  He may have actually gone there - it's not clear if the scenes we see are dreams or actual flashbacks, but now he's living in a ruined post-apocalyptic city, salvaging metal from the flooded areas of the region.

Azzarello and Risso work remarkably well at setting up the world where Orson lives.  We get a strong sense of the dingy settings he lives in, and that the rich live very differently.  We get a glimpse at some of the technology that makes such dismal living more bearable, such as a form of VR sex and designer drugs, and also of the difficulty of salvaging, especially as the dollar is frequently devalued.

Azzarello has crafted a whole new set of slang for his people to speak, which is easy to understand, and has its roots in current youth slang (true say).  I don't normally buy into that Clockwork Orange, Riddley Walker kind of thing (so annoying), but it works here.  Risso pulls out all the stops in terms of the visuals for this series, and it's a gorgeously ugly piece of work.

In terms of plot, this issue works at slowly introducing everyone, but we do learn through media reports that a contestant on a reality cast (show) where the winner gets to be adopted by Marc and April (read Brad and Angelina) has been abducted.  It seems everyone watches the show, but it also seems that Orson finds her, alive, while working a salvage.

It looks like this series is going to be a thriller about Orson and this child, but I hope that Azzarello and Risso take some time to explore this fascinating world they've invented.  This is a great debut issue, and the fact that it's only a dollar means that if you haven't bought it, you really need to check it out.  There is no excuse at that price.