Fans of Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Films Will Find 'Spaceman' Adequate

Fans of apocalyptic sci-fi have a reason to be excited. Anyone who craves movies like "Hardware," "The Book of Eli," and even the comedy "Idiocracy" can sometimes find it hard to fill that void when the industry is in a dry period or isn't releasing films of that nature for whatever reason. Thankfully you can fill that empty hole in your soul for a dreary future through reading novels or comic books that relate to the subject. Vertigo Comics' "Spaceman" comes to mind immediately.

"Spaceman" revolves around scrap metal collector Orson, who wastes away his days dreaming of the life he should have had if the space program had never been shut down. Orson sees a chance to be a hero when he finds himself at the center of a celebrity child kidnapping case. He decides to take matters into his own hands.

Writer Brian Azzarello has used the typical visions of a dystopian and apocalyptic future for the backdrop of a somewhat unique storyline. It's definitely not your typical "Mad Max" storyline, where everything is based around survival of the fittest and such. While the story isn't bad, it really didn't reach out and grab me. I'm sure serious fans of these sorts of movies, books, and comics will be more than happy with "Spaceman."

Obviously trying to do something a bit different, Azzarello uses text messaging for his inspiration of how Orson talks. The idea is interesting but comes across as a rip-off of Mike Judge's dumbed down future speech in "Idiocracy." Azzarello is an Eisner Award-winning writer who has also worked on "Wonder Woman" and the graphic novel "Joker."

Eisner Award-winning artist Eduardo Risso doesn't do much to push the bounds of what we've already seen when it comes to apocalyptic and dystopian imagery. He does an adequate job of illustrating "Spaceman" but doesn't go out of his way to bring anything unique to the book. That's not to say his work isn't good; it's just nothing new. Fans of these types of books and films will no doubt be pleased with what they see. The look of the hulking Orson will remind readers of a caveman that was somehow dropped into the future and does add a bit of a distinctive touch to the comic.

It's hard to judge an entire series on just the first issue, so I don't want to be too hard on "Spaceman." I just didn't find anything that made me want to return for more. It was one of those comics I read and thought, "That was cool. Next!" It didn't really have any endearing qualities to it. I felt like I had just gone and seen one of those February/March movies studios put out that entertain you while you're in the theater. However, you can't remember anything about it a few hours after you watch it.

More articles from Eric Shirey:

'Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season Two Part One' DVD Review

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series (Limited Edition)

Superman / Batman: Apocalypse Blu-ray and DVD Review

Eric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.

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