When a soldier with orders to put down a rebellion has second thoughts, the trajectory of his life changes dramatically.  Your Major Spoilers review of Arcbound #1 from Dark Horse Comics awaits!

ARCBOUND #1

Writers: Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri
Artist: Ryan Smallman
Colorist: Frank William
Letterer: Buddy Beaudoin
Editor: Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 13th, 2024

Previously in Arcbound: Kai is a soldier fighting for The Highness and the expansion of humanity throughout the galaxy.  This means he’s often sent to put down rebellions from colonists in resource-rich worlds.

SEND IN THE BIG GUNS

Arcbound #1 starts with a scientist working on the remains of a soldier, attempting to bring him back to life.  Things then flash back a few days prior.  Two soldiers, Kai and Xander, are pinned down and outnumbered by a lot of enemy combatants.  Xander wants to call in something to even the odds, but Kai is hesitant.  One of the enemies is able to get the drop on Xander and hold him hostage, forcing Kai to act and then reluctantly call in Warr, a massive super soldier.  Warr proceeds to make short work of the remaining enemy.  During the mission debriefing, Kai and Xander’s commander informs them that they are on their way to another planet to put down another group of colonists.  Kai is reluctant but agrees after the commander suggests that another threat is on the horizon.  The next day Kai receives an encrypted message that only decrypts moments before he drops to the next planet’s surface.  What he hears in the message forces him to rethink the cause he’s fighting for, which his fellow combatants aren’t thrilled about.

IT’S PRETTY VIOLENT, THAT’S ABOUT IT

There’s nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned, uber-violent sci-fi story.  There are plenty of examples of titles that manage to bring up interesting ideas in unique ways while not shying away from brutality.  This is not one of those.  Sure, it has the violence thing down, but it doesn’t really have much else to go with it.  The story is your run-of-the-mill “clearly evil imperialist group, stomps all over weaker people, then someone from within sees the light and resists” type plot, without even a lick of subtly or nuance that might give it a bit of fresh air.  The characters are fairly one-dimensional, with Kai being defined almost entirely by hesitancy and Xander being the typical company man.  The action was fairly fun, at least, so Arcbound #1 gets some points for that, and if that’s all you need in a comic, then this is going to be right up your alley.  But if you want even a smidgen of anything else, you’re not going to find it here.  I suppose having actor Tom Hardy involved in this makes this issue somewhat noteworthy, but it’s unclear what part he had to play in this, so even that fails to do anything for this issue.

TRYING FOR SOMETHING, COMING UP SHORT

Arcbound #1 gives us a bright and minimalistic view of the future.  Things are sleek, limited in color, but presented in copious amounts of light.  It’s not a very interesting design choice, but it works and does a decent job in capturing what kind of universe this story takes place in.  Things go off the rails though when it comes to how the human figure is drawn.  With some very light transhumanism themes being hinted at, I can only assume that maybe the odd proportions and unsightly ways characters bend is an attempt to capture those themes visually.  There’s a bit of an Aeon Flux feel to how characters look, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough to crossover into that “artistic” realm and instead just looks like the universe is full of clumsy, gangly people.

BOTTOM LINE:  AN UNINSPIRED SPECTACLE

Arcbound #1 is an incredibly violent and bloody comic, and that is it’s one defining characteristic.  The setup is boring and cliché, the story beats are predictable, the characters are shallow and uninteresting, and the art is just not very nice to look at.  If you really want to see some spacemen, get torn to pieces and shot, then this might do something for you.  But even then, there are probably some better comics out there for that.  2 out of 5 stars.

---

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

Arcbound #1

40%

40%

Not Worth The Time

Arcbound #1 seems like it’s trying to be a big bombastic first step into a new universe, but it ends up being a pretty boring and predictable one instead.

• Writing

  4
• Art

  4
• Coloring

  4
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  9.9