4 out of 5

Sometimes, with self-funded series with long release gaps, the pauses can be a little defeating, as you get deeper into the story – losing that first issue buzz – and the eagerness to read the new book can surpass the patience to reread the previous ones, leading to… a lot of expectations for each and every issue. It can make me scrutinize those individual issues more than I might if reading in a trade.

Dylan Klein’s and ​Lane Brettschneider’s Starside has managed to survive this scrutiny, and also continues to surprise me with the slight swerves it keeps adding to what I initially felt was a fun, but more generic, fish-out-of-water sci-fi tale.

As our Earth absconder, Jack has progressed further in his travels (with incidental mate Riggs) to get back to Earth, and Klein and Brettschneider have done a truly excellent job at expressing the size of their created universe and its inhabitants without overselling it, but also while maintaining a sense of stakes. It’s a Star Wars model: other planets and cultures are really just the norm for their inhabitants, so no need to present it otherwise, and artist Jordan Chao’s loose style is a perfect match for that.

…Except when the scope gets splash-pagey, but this issue is a locked room setup: Jack and Riggs are thrown into a cell with some other detainees, and the story’s peaks are effected through, mostly, conversation.

A bit of that is stiff, though I understand / accept why: as part of the aforementioned between-issue wait, I think Klein and Brettschneider try to seed in some story reminders, it’s just a little over-expository. However, countering this are how well-defined our characters have become – at least as far as we know them – and the new introductions have much promise. I was also delighted by a question Jack poses; it had passed through my thoughts before, but I kinda left it up to narrative magic. It’s super exciting to see it will actually be addressed.

And I remain wowed by Chao’s art, and sense of focus and eye direction, and maybe especially their colors. This stuff is all enhanced by the single setting and dialogue focus of the issue: Chao milks a lot out of subtleties. That said, there’s some spot moments of action in the issue, and Jordan’s use of speed lines felt a bit cartoonish in context. I’d be curious if they could attempt the same motion through body language / acting.

Many pluses, very minimal minuses. I’m loving supporting this book: I don’t just feel curious to see it through, I feel engaged, and rewarded by each arriving issue.