Space Job #2 Review

 

Space Job #2 Review

Writer: David A. Goodman

Artist: Alvaro Sarraseca

Colorist: Jordi Escuin Llorach

Letterer: Mauro Mantella

Cover Artist: Alvaro Sarraseca

Publisher: Dark Horse

Price: 3.99

Release Date: March 8, 2023

 

Captain Olivier accepts cargo runs to keep out of battles. His Operations Officer wants to leave the service and become a drug rep. The Chief Medical Officer worries her marriage is falling apart. And will anyone ever fix that exploding chair on the bridge? Let’s shuttle over to Space Job #2 and find out!

 

Story

The admiral keeps trying to assign Captain Olivier to the Bungo Straits. Olivier hedges that newly minted First Officer Sheridan might pull through. The Chief Medical Officer can only shake her head when he calls her for an update on Sheridan's status. Poor Danny is dead, the victim of the exploding chair. Why doesn't Olivier get that? Strangely, she misses the connection between her husband's obsession with an alien artifact and his sudden lack of interest in her.

 

Why does the ship need a First Officer to complete a cargo run but not to join a battle squadron? Why would Helm Officer Rick MacIntyre tell Captain Olivier he bonded psychically with an alien entity yet not tell his wife? How could a crew be so dysfunctional? Well, consider who sits in the big chair. (The one that doesn't explode). Whatever you do, don't spread any rumors about Captain Olivier taking an extended detour to pick up a desk he won on eBay because that's not the case!

 

Art

Like a minnow swimming through space, the S.S. George H.W. Bush jets away from the space station Danny Sheridan once called home. Captain Olivier could use a haircut. He would benefit from more gym sessions. The Chief Medical Officer's features and body language convey her concern for her marriage. They also hint at her growing attraction to Operations Officer Travis Biggins. I wish artist Alvaro Sarraseca had distinguished the male members of the bridge crew more. I preferred how he visualized memories in the previous issue to Space Job #2's abrupt flashbacks. But I loved the box of Space Nuts cereal, and the scene when Rick MacIntyre found the alien entity reminded me of a scene in Galaxy Quest.

 

Colorist Jordi Escuin Llorach casts small shadows to suggest overhead lighting. Uniforms reveal texture, highlights, and shading. Light plays upon crew faces, altering skin color and revealing contours. Spaceship engines glow with radiance (even when the Chief Engineer has shut them down). Llorach makes panels, instruments, and monitors glow with radiant color in Space Job #2. But that's nothing compared to the kaleidoscope of color we glimpse through viewports or see in exterior shots of the S.S. George H.W. Bush.

 

Mauro Mantella makes uppercase letters more expressive in this second issue. Larger and smaller words, bold and italicized letters, sing an aria filled with emotion and intonation. Big White letters on colored panels identify locations, times, and officers. Sound effects help us hear Captain Olivier's plate break when it hits the floor and feel the explosion when the ship's former captain loses his life. I wonder about his missions and if he was a better officer than Olivier.

 

Final Thoughts

After a head-scratcher start, Space Job #2 gets this series moving. Don't expect anything in this story to make sense: half the fun is that it doesn't. Quirky, oddball humor enhances thoughtful character portrayals and an intriguing mystery. Captain Olivier may never command a starship on the Paramount+ network, but the luminous art evokes all the grandeur of TV shows like Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Picard.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

To view the preview art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.