Astral Genesis (Graphic Novel Review)

By: Lowfat

Astral Genesis is a graphic novel that would be equally comfortable as a 1990s summer blockbuster. It gleefully blends equal parts sci-fi epic, James Bond-esque tech, military shenanigans, and unapologetically archetypal characters. It’s a heck of a lot of fun and I can’t wait for the remaining two books.

Story Arc

Aliens blow up the moon on Page 1. There. That should be enough of a synopsis.

Just in case that is not enough to convince you to check out the book: it has been 10 years since Colonel Jonathan DeVane took the blame for a deadly space shuttle accident. He lives in a dingy, self-imposed exile. The military brings him out of retirement to help transport a teenage Russian hacker and some top secret cargo. What could go wrong?

Of course, everything inevitably does go wrong, and suddenly DeVane must smuggle both the hacker and an eight-foot-tall alien-hybrid woman past paramilitary forces and demonic extraterrestrials. As DeVane learns more about his unlikely travel companions, the action and the stakes raise ever higher. Somehow, he makes time to rekindle his relationship with his long-estranged fiancé doctor, too.

Comic Review

Astral Genesis is every bit as awesome as it is ridiculous, and it knows it. It’s a breakneck-paced adventure that pokes fun at itself even as it delivers nonstop action and satisfying twists.

If you have seen an action movie, you’re already familiar with the characters in Astral Genesis. None of them really break any molds, but this isn’t a bad thing. Jonathan DeVane is a faithful cross between Bruce Willis’s John McClane from Die Hard, and Clint Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino. DeVane is cunning, gruff, and nationalistic, but there’s a soft heart somewhere underneath his crusty, smoky exterior.

The first several pages of Astral Genesis (after the moon explodes, of course) are dedicated to showing what a down-on-his-luck, repellant guy DeVane is. He wakes up in a motel room infested with empty beer bottles. First, he takes a swig of whiskey for breakfast, and he puts on his eyepatch. Then he climbs into his black 1970 Ford Mustang. A dozen unpaid parking tickets fly off the windshield as he speeds down the street while lighting a cigar in what has to be one of the least pleasant panels I’ve seen in a comic book in a long time:

The other characters are similarly ostentatious. Lila is Leeloo Dallas from The Fifth Element. Physically, she’s the strongest cast member by far. But she’s also perhaps the most vulnerable to the alien tech. And she never wears more than her underwear, although that’s partially to blame on the lack of outfits available to eight-foot-tall fugitives on the run.

Rob is a horny teen, and he’s the computer genius comic relief. The military guys are resourceful blowhards, and the aliens are malevolent. And nobody else in the story really matters. Again, this is not a bad thing. It’s by design. It’s an homage. I think.

Astral Genesis is a tribute to every great comic book (and many of the bad ones) of the late 80s and 90s. And it’s awesome. Everything is charmingly gratuitous: people, vehicles, and structures of all sizes eventually explode. Everyone shows their legs and abs at least once. There is enough high-tech gadgetry to make James Bond blush. And the pages drip with car chases, double-crosses, fistfights, and shootouts galore.

The art itself perfectly compliments Astral Genesis’s bombastic tone and characters. For better or for worse, it oozes inspiration from artists like Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and Erik Larson. Frequent splash pages emphasize the in-your-face visuals, which deftly maintain the nonstop pace of this hefty 120+ page tome. All this book needs is a gimmicky foil or holographic cover to achieve 90s perfection.

My biggest complaint is a minor one. When multiple characters are talking in the same panel, sometimes they share a word balloon. Why are the balloons not separate? Even if the characters are talking simultaneously, they are saying completely different things, so the balloons should be separated to avoid reader confusion.

Astral Genesis is a graphic novel unashamed of what it is: a 1990s sci-fi flick for teenage boys. It is action-packed, unapologetically macho, and tons of fun. I should have been eating popcorn while reading this book.

For more information on Astral Genesis and its upcoming sequels, check out the official Pet Piranha website, or the book’s Kickstarter.

The saga will continue with Astral Evolution, the next book in the series. You can support it on Kickstarter here!

Thanks to Pet Piranha Entertainment for providing us with a digital review copy in exchange for our honest review!