Sen and her friends eke out a living on Modia, but draw the attention of the tyrant Primoris. Now they are on the run, but what will happen when Sen finds a strange piece of space debris? Find out in Voyagis #1 from Image Comics!
VOYAGIS #1
Writer: Sumeyye Kesgin
Artist: Sumeyye Kesgin
Letterer: Sumeyye Kesgin
Editor: Shanna Matuszak
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 16, 2022
Previously in Voyagis: Sen’s home world has been laid waste by a wandering black hole. Resources are scarce at best, and a tyrant is in charge. But one day, one of the Voyager probes, sent long ago from Earth, drifts into local space…
A STRANGE WORLD IN DECLINE
Voyagis #1 wastes no time establishing that it takes place on an entirely different world. Sen walks through the dry landscape of the planet Modia musing on the devastation. Some clans believe that nature will return and heal things. Sen is more pessimistic, believing that they are well on their way to extinction. Then we learn she is there to set up an ambush for photosynthetic fuel.
Her communicator beeps. Her friend Zakk has been ambushed and he urges her to get away while she still can. A couple of vehicles fly in and call for Zakk to surrender in the name of Primoris, the local dictator. They are distracted by the third member of the team, Gorn, who takes out one of the vehicles. Sen takes out the other. The scene cuts to Primoris. Even though these Modian scavengers are not deemed a threat, he is extremely interested in them.
Sen and Zakk search the wreckage for plants and do not find any, but they do find water. More of Primoris’ ships arrive and with them, Plabot, a mecha whom Sen knows. Zakk and Sen beat a hasty retreat, chased by Plabot and the ships.
Back at Primoris’ headquarters, he analyzes how soon extinction may occur. His calculations are interrupted by new data. Sen is a Nau, a species they had thought was long extinct. And they think she may have some data they need.
Zakk does some fancy maneuvering to get rid of one of the ships chasing them. But there are more, and Plabot is hard on their heels. Zakk takes them higher in the atmosphere and suddenly the other ships all turn and retreat. As long as they are in low orbit, Zakk orders Sen to keep an eye out for any debris. She spots some kind of old satellite, one that has a gold disc set in it. Is it something important or just some random space junk?
SEARCHING FOR WATER AND LIFE
The art of Voyagis #1 immediately takes on world-building. Sen is humanoid, but with blue skin and horns. One of her arms has been replaced by a prosthetic. Her clothes are practical but ragged. The ground she walks across looks dry and dusty. There are no green plants, although there are some small fungoid-appearing growths on the ground. Off in the distance, we see large structures – vehicles, remnants of destroyed homes, weaponry, manufacturing structures? We cannot tell, but they are long disused. In the distance there are explosions. In a few short pages, we can tell this is an environmental catastrophe.
For a world in such decline, it is populated by multiple intelligent species. Zakk is not the same kind of person as Sen, although he is humanoid. Gorn, on the other hand, is a furry, tentacled creature. The variety does not end there. In Primoris’ headquarters, there are other, even stranger beings. Primoris does appear to be humanoid, but the others are far more unusual and interesting. I do like this. I think it is easy to default to humanoids because we are human. I enjoy seeing an alien world populated by something different.
BOTTOM LINE: OFF TO AN INTERESTING START
Voyagis #1 takes place in a world under great stress so there is plenty of reasonable opportunity for conflict. I like getting familiar with the setting and then having the Voyager probe introduced so we get a little extra connection.
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Voyagis #1
A small piece of space debris arrives at a world in decline.
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Writing7
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Art8
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Coloring7
By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.