I have to admit I do enjoy a good origin story. So, I was excited to check out Planetoid #1 which is out today. It tells the story of Silas, a former soldier who turned space pirate, who gets trapped on an unnamed planet when his ship crashes there. While he initially believe the world to be uninhabited he soon finds out that is not the case when some of them local animals chew up his tent. As he continues his search of the world he quickly find it to be quite dangerous and unfriendly with lakes of toxic sludge and robotic sea snakes which attack him on site.
Fortunately, Silas find he is not the only human on the planet when a new friend comes along to help him. Not only is he able to get his injuries patched up be more importantly he finds out a little more about the world he is trapped on. Formerly a mining colony, the planet emits a strange electromagnetic radiation which causes any ship that gets to close to crash on it. However, this also makes it impossible to leave the planet as of the ships just crash back down.
The first issue of Planetoid gives a really nice look at the events leading up to Silas’ crash landing and who he is while mixing in some action and humor. The pacing was nicely done as the story gets told quick enough that things are not boring but not so fast that you miss stuff. The graphics are somewhat dark and gritty without giving up too much detail. For the setting the story takes place I think they work quite well. I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes as Silas doesn’t seem like one who would be content to live out his life trapped on a planet. He went AWOL from the military to get his freedom and it seems he’ll fight to keep it.
