BECSTAR #1, available from Mad Cave Studios on May 5th, 2021, introduces readers to the rough-n-tumble world of an ex-mercenary and her first mate as they wander through the galaxy. When an old partner’s death sets off a scavenger hunt for powerful artifacts, Becstar is forced back into her old life with enemies on every side.
The Details
- Written By: Joe Corallo
- Art By: Lorenzo Colangeli
- Cover Art By: Sweeney Boo
- Letters By: Joamette Gil
- Cover Price: TBD
Was It Good?
It’s a good start. The caveat here is I am clearly not the target audience for this material, so the focus of my review is on the quality of the art and the storytelling rather than innate appeal.
The writing is very good. Corallo introduces a small squadron of characters, and you get who they are with their individual voices and motivations, quickly. That’s a testament to strong writing.
The story itself is a standard drunken, rowdy badass that’s fallen on hard times when old enemies come looking for a MacGuffin that said badass doesn’t have. It feels very familiar but not in a boring or tropey way. New readers can get on board with what’s happening without a lot of requisite world-building or setup. Again, that’s strong writing from Corallo.
The art is fine but not great. The color palette over the entire issue is muted and soft, so there’s a lack of dramatic contrast. The character designs fall into the sketchy, indie style category. When you put the indie pencils and inks together with the muted palette, there’s no pop. Overall the art is good, but it’s just not memorable.
Short Story Long
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
We begin with an assassin attacking Turlough’s well-guarded compound at night. Turlough orders his assistant, Paprika, to escape with the Clairvoyance Rod before the assassin can find them. Paprika escapes before the cyborg assassin, Ozgar, finds and kills Turlough.
If it wasn’t clear before now, this comic is a full MA due to language and violence. The look of the characters and the synopsis could you lead to believe this is a YA book. It’s definitely not.
Mordecai, the main villain, receives Ozgar’s report that he failed to retrieve the Clairvoyance Rod. Anticipating what Turlough would do, Mordecai knows Paprika is heading off to find Becstar, and he sends Ozgar to pursue.
Cut to a space casino where we meet Becstar and her first mate, Sally. Becstar is drinking a lot and losing even more at the card table, and the casino boss throws her out. We learn through the duo’s dialog that Becstar is an aimless mess, and Sally complains about it every step of the way.
What we also learn is Becstar possesses a “luck dagger” that gives her an edge when she gets into scraps with unruly casino bouncers. An edge, however, is not enough, and the two are soon out on the street.
As the two wander the streets to figure out what to do, Mordecai’s guards show up to grab Becstar, believing she has the Clairvoyance Rod. The two groups start a blaster fight, Sally gets injured, and Paprika arrives with a killing shot to save the duo.
Later, Paprika explains who she is, what she has, and why she’s here. Becstar goes into flashback mode and shares everything she knows about Turlough.
The local security approaches, but the trio head to the spaceport to escape on Becstar’s ship. What they don’t realize is Ozgar arrived earlier and placed a tracker on Becstar’s ship. Our heroes have escaped, but the hunters are not far behind.
Final Thoughts
BECSTAR #1, available from Mad Cave Studios on May 5th, 2021 (pre-order on February 24th), expertly introduces a cavalcade of characters for a new space pirate adventure. The writing is well-paced and fleshes out new characters quickly to get readers right into the story. The art is good but lacks dramatic punch. I would recommend you give this book a try.
Score: 7/10
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