Paperback
Authors: Sylvain Runberg & Eric Chabbert
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
£10.99 inc. VAT
ISBN: 9781800441040
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/outlaws-1-the-cartel-of-the-peaks-p-4520.html
The first volume of an Orbital spin-off.
2279. A freighter arrives on planet Drenn, with its hidden cargo of illegal immigrants, including young Human Kristina Swany. Like the rest of her travelling companions, she seeks a new life, a new start … but what awaits them is slavery, at the hands of a merciless criminal cartel – the supposed price for the last leg of their journey. Left with no choice, Kristina and the others must do dangerous work in atrocious conditions, and soon begin to suspect there won’t be a last leg …
Orbital was a great series so I was wondering what a "spin off" would be like. Then I saw the whole "People smugglers" and "illegal immigrants" and I thought "Oh good grief. Basically what is going on in real life being put into some virtue signalling comic album". Yeah, I was wrong to a point.
Illegal immigrants and modern slavery is a topical item these days but this was far from a virtue signalling book (anything after the epic virtue signalling failures that was The Eternals and Wakanda Forever movies anything else is weak!). The story seems a little derivative but then there are only so many story scenarios out there and it is how you use them. Here Runberg manages to pull off an interesting story and it will be even more interesting to see how this develops.
Chabbert's artwork is superb. The mix of exotic alien races, the space craft, cities and much more were fantastic and imaginative and the colour work makes this a book worth looking through several times. There may actually be hope for colour comics after all 😀
To be honest this is a book you could understand what is going on just by following the art and that's the sign of an artist knowing what he's doing. With no more Orbital I guess Outlaws will have to do!
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