by Mike Favila, Reporter

I have to confess that I haven’t gotten a chance to play the games themselves, so Dead Space is my first introduction to the sprawling multimedia franchise.  I’ve been a huge fan of Ben Templesmith since his amazingly expressive work on 30 Days Of Night, so I was excited to get into the story.  The writer,Antony Johnston, previously collaborated with Templesmith on Wasteland, the title he’s most often associated with.  This TPB  collects the original 6 issue arc published by Image in 2008.

Bram Neumann is our protagonist and unlikely hero of the Aegis VII colony. As an officer of P-Sec, he is tasked with keeping the order in the colony.  Unfortunately, this ‘order’ is short lived.  The main source of conflict in Dead Space is Unitology, a religion bordering on a cult, which is based on a belief that humans were created by an alien race who would later claim them in death through a ‘Marker’, a spiral obelisk jutting towards the sky, covered with faint glyphs spread all over its structure.  The first one was discovered 200 years ago, which kickstarted the religion.  With the discovery of a new Marker on the colony, chaos soon takes over the population.  With vague echoes of Scientology, I already felt uncomfortable.  Unitologists believe that, to be reunited with their makers, they must die and sacrifice themselves (and others) to fulfill what they believe to be their destiny.  As a result, Necromorphs (the evil byproduct of the recombinant virus emitting from the Marker and the dead) start taking over the colony and perpetuate an intense death spiral.

I’ve always loved Templesmith’s work, and his art here is no exception. Most of his previously illustrated stories involve some sort of horrific scene meant to invade your mind, and his pairing with the Dead Space series is an well matched, if not obvious, choice.  The character profiles at the start of the book are very helpful, as the reader is immediately dropped in the middle of multiple conversations, like you’re joining an established comic in the middle of a story arc.  Having established a working relationship on the aforementioned Wasteland, Johnston and Templesmith work seamlessly here.

This paperback presentation of Dead Space, while not as sturdy as the initial hardcover from 2008, is quite durable and well presented.  I appreciate the extra Gallery, which shows some of the previs character designs and the raw pencils of a few of the pages.  Additionally,this new presentation includes Dead Space: Extraction, the one issue prequel that came with the Nintendo Wii game of the same name.The pencils are especially insightful because you can see how clear Templesmith’s layouts are before he relayers it inside the computer.  Although I love Templesmith’s art, sometimes it can be pretty difficult to tell characters apart, especially with a limited color pallette, so I sometimes had to go back in the book and reread to make sure I was in the right spot.  Because the narrative must serve as a prequel for the Dead Space: Extraction video game,  the creative team has to introduce/torture so many characters in such a short span, I was amazed I was able to keep up.  Considering the original hardcover is selling for upwards of $50 or more on the used market, Dead Space is a great deal and an easy way to start at the beginning of the terror.

Rating:
ComicsOnline.com gives Dead Space 4 out of 5 Necromorph claws!   Stay alive in the depths of space with the help of ComicsOnline.com for more comic book reviews and everything geek pop culture!