STARFINDER: ANGELS OF THE DRIFT#1, from Dynamite Comics on 6/21/23, begins a new tabletop-inspired adventure when Navasi and her merry band of privateers accept a mission to help a Spectra droid reach an uncharted world.
The Details
- Written by: James L. Sutter
- Art by: Edu Menna
- Colors by: Adriano Lucas
- Letters by: Tom Napolitano
- Cover art by: Biagio D’Alessandro (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: June 21, 2023
Is It Good?
STARFINDER: ANGELS OF THE DRIFT#1 brings the TTRPG science fiction game to life with a solid campaign adventure where Navasi and her crew accept a mission filled with danger. Fans of the tabletop game will instantly be able to pick out familiar characters, settings, and situations, but new readers will have no problem jumping into a darn fine sci-fi action story.
James L. Sutter’s script centers on an eclectic band of privateers looking for work after the “Drift Crash,” a mysterious event that rendered the void that allows for interstellar travel unstable. When the crew receives an offer to escort a Spectra droid on behalf of the machine-god, Triune, to an uncharted world with the promise of rich trading, the competition from other crews heats up.
That’s it. That’s the setup. And it’s practically perfect for what a Starfinder campaign needs to be. Sutter develops a diverse crew of aliens with their own cultures, personalities, and unique skills. The plot has just enough complexity to be interesting yet simple enough to jump into the action without needing to do any research. And the pacing, dialog, and action all work well.
How’s the art? Edu Menna’s detailed art style gives the characters and setting a believable, lived-in appearance that helps the readers jump into the story quickly. The character designs are memorable, Menna’s line work is pristine, and Lucas’s subtle coloring is outstanding.
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 a brief prologue explanation of the machine-god Triune who gifted knowledge of interstellar space travel technology to worlds across the universe. The tech allows travelers to enter the Drift, a fold dimension that offers spaceships a shortcut to different points in the galaxy, making trips to alien worlds much faster. Recently, an undefined event called the “Drift Crash” rendered the Drift unstable, spewing travelers out into random points in space.
Navasi and her crew make a living transporting people and cargo through the drift, but since the crash, work is hard to come by, and every ship-for-hire is desperate for a gig. Suddenly, Navasi is approached by a Spectra droid, one of the emissaries triune uses to spread knowledge to as-of-yet uncharted worlds, for passage to its next assignment. Unfortunately, word of the Spectra droid’s destination has started to spread and every crew wants to be the first to monopolize the new world’s potential for trade.
We conclude the issue with severed connections, hard feelings, and an ill-advised escape route.
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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STARFINDER: ANGELS OF THE DRIFT#1 nails the TTRPG experience of the classic game with an eclectic array of alien races, an intriguing mystery, and plenty of sci-fi adventure and action. Sutter’s script works for fans and non-fans of the tabletop game, and Menna’s art is excellent.
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