SPACECOOLER #1, from Mark Fenton on Kickstarter, imagines what happens to a prison satellite when the next round of “volunteer” guards contains a killer with a grudge.
The Details
- Written by: Mark Fenton
- Art by: Brian Rogers
- Colors by: Brian Rogers
- Letters by: Wes Locher
- Cover art by: Brian Rogers
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $5.00
- Release date: June 2020
Is It Good?
SPACECOOLER #1 shows a lot of promise and exceptionally good execution from indie creators Mike Fenton and Brian Rogers. Primarily focused on world- and character-building, this first issue lays a solid foundation with heaps of foreshadowing for bad things about to happen.
“Exceptionally good execution” doesn’t sound very sexy or exciting, but there’s no end to the number of indie submissions we’ve received where the creators are desperately in need of basic editorial help. It’s not clear if Fention edited this comic on his own or if he solicited editorial help, but the end result is a smart, super-tight, well-paced comic with good dialog. The foundation is all there, and more indie creators should take note.
“What about the story?” you wonder. It’s a little early to tell based on the first issue, but Fenton (again) gets the basics right. An orbiting space prison is getting its next round of inmates and replacement guards, but something is about to go terribly wrong. It sounds like a few action films from the 80s and 90s, but the orbiting space prison is a pleasant twist.
Fenton establishes the characters well, with little hints and nuggets dropped to let readers know this trip will not be routine. And Fenton layers on even more mystery by implying the prison isn’t operating the way the public is told it operates. You get mystery covered with a big dollop of foreshadowing sprinkled with an extra helping of momentum.
In fairness, this first issue is almost all setup. You get to know the characters, some of their motivations, and the personal stakes at play. However, if you’re looking for cool sci-fi action, you’ll have to hold on for issue #2 before the main conflict starts to heat up.
How’s the art? Brian Rogers’s line and figure work is super clean. The lines are razor sharp, Rogers’s character designs are distinctive, and the entire issue has slick polish. Most of this first issue takes place on Earth, so there isn’t much room to get creative on the sci-fi front, but there should be more room for artistic flexing in the next issue.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with separate introductions to Jason and Cheveyo, randomly selected police officers assigned to a one-year mission on an orbiting space prison. Their mission is simple – escort the next round of prisoners to orbit, execute an equal number of prisoners to make room, perform routine duties for one year, and come home.
What nobody realizes is that the prison may not be in perfect order, one of the new prisoners has violent plans, and one of the new guards has an ulterior motive for the prison. We conclude the issue with training, a launch, and the promise of bad times ahead.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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SPACECOOLER #1 is an exceptionally well-crafted issue setting up a prison thriller in space. The script and art are tight on every level, and the story heaps on oodles of mystery and foreshadowing about a routine prison drop that’s about to go horribly wrong.
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