Danny Sheridan is the new First Officer of the SS George H.W. Bush, but the crew is not reading for his leadership. Find out what happens in Space Job #1 by Dark Horse Comics!
SPACE JOB #1 (OF 4)
Writer: David Goodman
Artist: Alvaro Sarraseca
Colorist: Jordi Escuin Llorach
Letterer: Mauro Mantella
Editor: Dave Marshall
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 8th, 2023
Previously in Space Job: Check out a new comic series from Dark Horse featuring light-hearted humor and a weird mystery!
Space Job #1 starts with Danny Sheridan finally being promoted from his job as a chef’s assistant to the First Officer of a new spaceship. He is disappointed at his initial welcome on the ship and decides to spacewalk to his new appointment rather than wait for a pickup. Once there, Danny is appalled by the lack of respect from the crew. Sitting on the First Officer chair, he dies from a sharp piece of metal in his head. This stark contrast takes us to the point of view of the crew, who admit that their last First Officer died from a chair malfunction and haven’t been able to fix it.
After this, we see some of the other crews’ problems. Travis, the Chief Operations Officer, is looking for a new job. Captain Oliver seems incompetent and is worried more about winning eBay auctions than meeting deadlines. But most importantly, the tension between Rick Macintyre and the Doctor is that Rick has been replaced by something else!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the comic. In a way, Space Job #1 plays as a sitcom or an Office-type mockumentary. And I’m not sure I enjoyed that because there is a massive cast of characters. I spent the first section of the novel learning about Danny Sheridan just for him to get killed off. I get that there is an appreciation for getting pushed off guard. Still, we devoted a lot of pages for our first point-of-view character just to quickly be rushed to the idiosyncrasies of the rest of the crew. In fact, when the plot hook of Rick being someone/something else, I didn’t even really care about it. I find it hard to become invested in something that didn’t spend the time getting me attached to the characters that stayed alive after one issue.
The art is pretty good, but I don’t know if the creative team has had the scene yet that flexes their artistic skills. The panels have intricate backgrounds, and I think the facial expressions work well. As we get into the main plot, the art will only improve.
Subverting expectations has been a hot trend lately. Since Game of Thrones started killing off point-of-view characters at the drop of a hat, many stories tried replicating that feeling. I am just unsure if it worked in the extended scheme of things. Space Jobs #1 is a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Space Jobs #1
Space Jobs #1 tries to subvert expectations but fails to nail the landing in my eyes.
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Writing6
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Art8
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Coloring7
Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com