In UNBORN #1, available from Source Point Press on September 29th, 2021, a homesick crew of space miners encounters an alien swarm that interferes with their mission and disrupts evolving relationships among the team.
The Details
- Written By: Frank Gogol
- Art By: Ev Cantada
- Colors By: Ev Cantada
- Letters By: Sean Rinehart
- Cover Art By: Maan House (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: September 29, 2021
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Was It Good?
There’s an inherent risk to a story that pulls a “bait and switch”. When a writer lays out a very clear setup that the story is going one way, then zig-zags into a completely different direction, the result can be difficult to pull off successfully, which is why so few creators try it. However, a “bait and switch” can work if readers recognize the first direction is assumed or so subtle that the zig-zag feels more like a surprise than a cheat. So, is the zig-zag in this story a surprise or a cheat?
It’s a surprise, and a good one with a few caveats. Hop on down to the next section if you want the plot details.
The setup is a fairly standard space horror/drama. A group of miners on a critical mission for a resource desperately needed for Earth encounters a hostile horde of aliens that look like oversized scorpions. There’s not much uniqueness to the alien encounter (until the end), but the bigger story elements come into play with the individual crew members, particularly between the secretly pregnant captain and her pilot who doesn’t know she’s pregnant.
And there’s the bait. The prologue, journal entries, and internal conflict expressed by the captain slyly imply the story will focus on issues of romantic relationships, reproduction, and abortion during long space journeys. To be fair, it may not be an intentional bait, but it’s easy to get that impression based on the heavy emphasis placed on these subjects for the first half of the book.
However, the switch comes in during and after the alien attack. While most of the miners take the event as simply upsetting, the attack has a profound impact on the relationship between the captain and her pilot. The impact is severe enough that it forces the reader to completely lose any sense of predictability about where the story is going. Unpredictability is always a good thing as long as it makes sense while the story unfolds.
This is also the first time we’ve encountered Ev Cantada’s work. It’s generally very good, but Cantada’s is stronger in some areas than others. The action sequences during the alien attack are fairly average in terms of movement and panel angles, however, Cantada’s work excels when characters need to emote during a heartfelt scene. In other words, Cantada does facial acting better than action, but the overall art quality is still very good.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Captain Mia and her crew are on a long-travel mining mission to harvest a rare energy mineral desperately needed for Earth’s survival. Their first planetary stop did not yield the amount of mineral needed, so the crew is forced to stay out of cryo sleep much longer than planned to find an alternate source. The stress of extended leave and being cooped up on a ship takes its toll on the crew, forcing tension between a few members but drawing others closer together for comfort. We learn early on that Captain Mia is pregnant from her romance with the pilot, Timber.
During their next, and hopefully last, mining stop, the crew gets almost all the minerals they need when an earthquake opens a crevasse nearby. Suddenly, out comes a swarm of scorpion-like aliens the size of large lobsters that slash and bite. The crew clears out the horde with their specialized weaponry, but the aliens have a unique ability – one alien can resurrect another with its stinger.
The crew takes what they can and races back to the ship when Timber is mortally slashed by one of the aliens. They all get back to the ship but not until one of the aliens makes it onboard. The captain manages to kill it before it harms anyone, and Marco, the completely untrustworthy ship’s scientist, takes the “dead” alien away for study.
We conclude the issue with a bedside confession, the revelation that alien life is not a surprise to everyone, and a horrifying discovery about the alien’s resurrection abilities.
Final Thoughts
UNBORN #1 is a space horror/drama that feels like it’s taking you in one direction but surprises you with a twist that opens the door for a completely unpredictable and welcome reading experience. The dialog and interpersonal relationship writing are very strong, and the facial expressions from the characters sell the emotion poignantly.
Score: 8/10
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