Advance Review — ‘Galactic’ #1 Relies Too Much On Familiar Sci-Fi Tropes
by Tom Smithyman
The spunky space princess. The heroic rogue with his furry sidekick. The evil villain set to invade a peaceful planet.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
No, it’s not Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy – though there are elements of both. Instead, it’s Galactic, a new limited series from DSTLRY. New as in it premieres in November. But there are virtually no new concepts here.
There’s down-on-his-luck bounty hunter Jecht Marco, who is so clearly a rip off of Han Solo that artist Amilcar Pinna would have been better off patterning him after Harrison Ford. Instead of a Wookie, Marco’s copilot is a humanoid dog named Wolf. I mean, it’s not like they’re even trying to be original at this point. Throw in Seriah, a plucky princess who spends part of this premier issue running around in – wait for it – a metallic space bikini.
Apparently, writer Curt Pires is waiting for second issue to introduce the diminutive green teacher who speaks backwards. Pires is clearly of the opinion that good artists borrow and great ones steal. Pinna is in on the conceit as well, illustrating a “homage” cover that looks like the original Star Wars poster by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt.
He also doesn’t seem to be interested in telling a linear story. Instead, he literally layers flashback into flashbacks, though the story is so straightforward and familiar that it’s still easy to follow. And it’s not a bad story; it just doesn’t feel original. Also, given DSTLRY’s longer page count, the issue drags. There’s plenty of action, but it feels like Pires could have made better use of the space he was given.
Pinna’s artwork is fine, but it’s muted by Lee Loughridge‘s odd color choices. Much of the issue is bathed in pastels, which dampens the impact of the occasionally violent story. (It works well in the sex scenes, but they only take up a few memorable pages.
Homages are fine. There’s a reason we love the original works, and we want to keep going back to them. But Galactic seems to want to tell its own story while still relying on tropes. Just pick one and lean into it.
Galactic #1 will be available in comic book stores and on digital platforms November 26th from DSTLRY.
Overview
If you’re a fan of Star Wars…read a Star Wars comic. This limited series tries to channel many of the space fantasy’s characters and plot points while delivering an original story. Pick a direction: Either do go all on with an homage or come up with an original story.