Brave New Worlds But Flat Characters In Lightstep #3
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The opening scene shows a pair of alien visitors looking for Oscar Kemp, the man who ran the Captain Samson radio show. In the present, January sees a man in her quarters, but he suddenly disappears. Jazzman is on the surface of Hope Harbor, the planet the Argonaut is orbiting. This world is ruled by religious zealots who believe their civilization will soon end. Jazzman is looking for a specific member of their church with extraordinary abilities. Jazzman wanted January and Colony Sixty-Six to stay aboard the ship, but neither individual has ever been good at following orders.
Lightstep #3 once again crafts a new fascinating alien civilization with its own quirks and culture. Hope Harbor may not be the most well-rounded civilization ever put to paper (in fairness, the likes of Tolkien and Martin made that a hard bar to clear), but you get enough to understand the broad strokes of how it works.
Where Lightstep continues to falter is in the characters and dialogue. January has an interesting backstory, but she’s written to be a bit of a waif. Jazzman is supposed to be a radio space pirate, but he’s pretty flat too. Colony Sixty-Six has the most personality, but it gets Deadpool-levels of grating.
The new character introduced in this issue, Templo, has both a good backstory and an engaging personality. Hopefully she can right the ship a bit in that regard.
Once again, the artwork of Milos Slavkovic is the greatest boon the comic has. The visual design continues to amaze, with Hope Harbor having possibly the most dazzling aesthetic yet. The priests of Hope Harbor’s religion float around in metal coffins that dull their senses to the “lies” of the universe. The color work is phenomenal as well, giving the comic a bizarre and wonderful sci-fi tableau.
Lightstep #3 is another heavily flawed issue of this science fiction miniseries. The new worlds and civilizations introduced are immensely creative and interesting. However, the driving plot is vague, and the main characters leave a bit to be desired. The artwork is what cinches it and makes this comic at least tentatively recommendable. If what the comic offers speaks to you, then feel free to check it out.
Lightstep #3 comes to us from writers Milos Slavkovic and Mirko Topalski, artist Milos Slavkovic, letterer Andrej Bunjac, and cover artist Slavkovic with Tiberiu Beka.
