Image Comics has released another first issue for a creator owned comic. Is Debris #1 worth picking up this week? Major Spoilers has your answer!
Debris #1
Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist: Riley Rossmo
Letterer: Ed Brisson
Colors: Owen Gieni
Editor: Laura Tavishati
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
Previously in Debris: Back when Pluto was a planet and video games came in cartridges, a company named Image Comics was started. Skip forward two decades and here you are; Image Comics is thriving, Pluto has been stripped of its title and video games no longer have to be blown into. In other words, it’s a first issue.
ANOTHER LAST CIVILIZATION STORY?
We open up on this new tale with two women out scouting the landscape. As they come upon a pack of some crossbred between a raptor and Bumblebee, all of a sudden a metalloid-Tremor shoots out from the ground and grabs a little snack. It is at that point I knew Debris was going to be interesting.
After a well-sequenced chase scene, we follow out teacher, Calista, and pupil, Maya, back to their village where the groundwork for the story is laid out. Essentially this group of humans is the last in the world, food and water are scarce, and these giant metal creatures, Jormungards, are a threat to them all. I feel like this story set has been used before, but it somehow feels different, I just can’t put my finger on it.
A possible reason for this could be that I know Debris is a four issue miniseries. So essentially there should be a conclusion to the tale, instead of an ongoing series following the group from encounter to encounter with no glimmer of hope in sight. Could this eventually enter the territory of ongoing? Who knows? But for as for now we should get a completed tale, which will hopefully encourage readers who long for that to pick up an issue.
DID STEELIX JUST EAT SKARMONY?
I’m slightly hoping that Riley Rossmo intended that opening sequence of metal-eating-metal action to be the inner Pokemon fan boy coming out onto the page, but even if it isn’t, it still looked incredible. Generally that is how the whole issue looked, granted there were one or two hiccups but nothing too major. There were some weird coloring differences in our heroine’s attire in back to back panels that have me scratching my head on how they were missed. After a couple rereads, the layouts, compositions, and use of splash pages have left me with the feeling of reading through a movie storyboard, which I frankly loved.
BOTTOM LINE: STRONG FEMALE ROLE
If you are looking for a comic with a strong lead female role, then you should be picking up Debris. Already in the first issue she was able to take down a Jormungard single handily, confidently instruct the village warriors in their fight, and take the necessary actions to keep her people alive. Maya isn’t devoid of emotions though as those surface towards the end. Debris #1 caught me off guard, in a good way, at the beginning and had artwork that may not have been perfect but was completely engaging. I’m giving the issue 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommending it to anyone with a bent towards survival adventure stories.
[rating: 3.5/5]