A Twisted Sacrament - Review of We Only Find Them When They're Dead volume 1

 

Review:

The creative team of writer Al Ewing and artist Simone di Meo gives us a visually gorgeous and conceptually ground-breaking sci-fi thrill-ride. This collection brings together the first five issues of the 2020-2021 series by BOOM! Studios.

At the centre of the story is Captain Malik and his crew of four. Their livelihood is best considered as deep-space miners. Except what they mine are the corpses of giant alien gods, found drifting at the very edge of the galaxy. Beyond them is the vast, empty darkness of inter-galactic space.

But they are not alone in their mining quest. Each of the dead gods, the size of a mountain or more, is mined in a cutthroat competition between dozens of "autopsy ships" - with each one staking their claim to a divine eyeball or sector of cheek, or to the metals and fabrics making up the garb of the gods. Each of these competing ships, like Malik's, includes a quartermaster, an engineer and most crucially a surgeon to operate the giant laser "knife" for carving up the flesh of the god.

Novelty of concept is not enough, on its own, to support a compelling story. Even with the potential Judeo-Christian overtones and themes around devouring divinity, all left surprisingly untouched and unexplored in these initial chapters, the story needs more. 

So, Ewing drops human conflict, broken relationships and long-simmering interpersonal feuds into the mix. Malik's history with one of the law-enforcement escorts unfolds through at times jumpy flashbacks - an engagement between the escort and Malik's brother, a family smuggling and black-market scheme, a suspicious last-minute swap of work shifts, a horrible accident - all work to foster a personal vendetta against Malik by the law enforcer. And when Malik sets out into the void with his little ship, in search of a still-living god, she pursues him to hunt him down.

Simone di Meo's visuals are gorgeous with painted splashes of colour on black backgrounds. It gives the feel of deep-space action, while leaving lots of room for attention-directing bursts of light and flashes of colour. His innovative art matches the unique scenario of the series.

The story is not without its flaws, however. The flashbacks try to hold our hand through the jumps in time and place. Using references to the year, tucked subtly into the panels, helps a little, but is over-used and winds up fragmenting our attention and confusing more than helping.

Likewise, Simone di Meo is freed from the confines of standard panel structures and layouts. This frequently enhances the overall story; but when his free-flowing images fail to draw the reader's eye in the right sequence, a frustrating amount of extra effort lands on the part of the reader to make sense of what is happening. And the comic-standard word balloons feel jarringly out of place on top of the beauty and innovation of these pages. Given the creativity and innovation displayed in the graphic storytelling, could they have imagined a better way to communicate the characters' speech?

Overall, this beautiful and imaginative book rates 3 capes.

Description:

Captain Malik and the crew of his spaceship are in search of the only resources that matter – and can only be found by harvesting the giant corpses of alien gods that are found on the edge of human space.. and now they see an opportunity to finally break free from this system: by being the first to find a living god.

THE GODS ARE ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL... ...AND THE GODS ARE ALWAYS DEAD. Captain Malik and the crew of the spaceship the Vihaan II are in search of the only resources that matter – and can only be found by harvesting the giant corpses of alien gods that are found on the edge of human space. While other autopsy ships and explorers race to salvage the meat, minerals, and metals that sustain the human race, Malik sees an opportunity to finally break free from this system: by being the first to find a living god. But Malik’s obsession with the gods will push his crew into the darkest reaches of space, bringing them face to face with a threat unlike anything they ever imagined, unless the rogue agent on their trail can stop them first... 

Superstars Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk) and Simone Di Meo (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) present a new sci-fi epic about the search for meaning and the hard choices we make to find it, no matter the cost to the world – or universe – around us.

Collects: We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1-5

Authors:  Al Ewing
Artists:  Simone Di Meo
Published By:  BOOM! Studios
Published When:  May 11, 2021
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1684156771
Pages:  112 pages