A Survivor’s Story That Offers Hope Where There Seems To Be None: Reviewing ‘Void Rivals’ #1

For some time now Robert Kirkman has made it his goal to surprise and awe comic book fans with surprise drops that harken back to the excitement us older comic book fans enjoyed before the internet and the age of spoilers. That buzz you would get walking into your local comic book store (which, back in the ‘80s, for me was a combination of a 45 minute walk and two trains into Liverpool with a stop off at the shit hole known as Bidston) and discovering a new shock you hadn’t read about in advance. Whether that was with the shock ending to his seminal The Walking Dead comic, or the surprise drop of ultra-violent, and ultra-fun Die!Die!Die, Kirkman has become something of the P.T. Barnum of contemporary comics. And, he’s done it again with Void Rivals #1 teasing a new shared universe revealed today – to any readers living under a rock, that is – to include Hasbro’s beloved Transformers. 

Enemy versus enemy with more than a hint of Enemy Mine about it, we are introduced to Darak, a seemingly robotic alien who finds himself trapped on a desolate and deserted planet void of life. Well, almost. All but one other similar survivor of a space ship crash landing, and enemy to his kind. The choice laid out to these two survivors of opposing factions is a simple one. Learn to work together or face a slow and painful death.

To help ease the tension created by the seemingly hopeless situation we have Darak’s talking glove, nicknamed by Darak humorously as Handroid, acting as the comic relief while also laying down the norms when it comes to meeting you enemy, the female Zertonian, Solila. It’s a great little narrative flourish and does well to alleviate the otherwise dire situation and uncomfortable first contact Darak and Solila make. Especially as the plot in this debut issue is one of peaks and valleys as we are led on the emotional highs and lows of the two enemies trying to work together for the greater good of escaping their dilemma.

Billed as the ‘Energon Universe’ we get but a glimpse of what is to come in a story of shipwreck and survival with the introduction – briefly – of an all-new Transformer know as Jetfire. It’s a scene that certainly surprises, but last fleetingly enough that it doesn’t interrupt the main plot, which is very small in focus and thereby very up close and personal. And Kirkman does up close and personal exceptionally well, giving us two new characters in Solila and Darak who find a way to work together and realise that maybe, just maybe, they may be more similar than their separate alien empires have indoctrinated into them. 

Creating a comic book that does not feel like a traditional Transformers comic book is Lorenzo De Felici, who’s fluid flow is a far cry from the oft-times technically obsessed art style often called for in previous Transformers comics from the various publishers of the past. It’s a style that easily put even the best bloodhounds off the scent. No-one could have seen this revelation coming with De Felici on board. And, his skills are evident on every page. After all, he has the unenviable task of creating a story that resonates with the readers while portraying a planet of dirts, dust and endless dereliction, all against the backdrop of an infinite sky filled with stars, but nothing more. This alone gives off the strong impression that not only are Darak and Solila a far way from home, but no-one’s looking for them either.

And so we have a debut that gives us two survivors slowly becoming more than enemies while looking great and tickles the flames of Transformer fans into a feeding frenzy. No doubt this comic will sell out for any one of these reasons, but I do hope it’s because of this Robinson Crusoe-in-space sci-fi yarn being an emotive, personal story of two enemies overcoming their join prejudices and learning to like, even love one another.

Void Rivals #1 is out now from Skybound/Image Comics