Broken Frontier

The crew is scattered, they face an old enemy and they have no plan. Just like old times…

Boom! Studios made a tremendously smart move in not only acquiring the license to Farscape but also getting the series’ original producer to do the plotting. The result has been a comic that is so true to the original source material that it is almost eerie.

Aeryn and Crighton face their old enemy, Scorpius, and discover that he, for one, is not a big believer in lasting peace and his own grudges continue to drive him. What is more, he does not believe that all Crighton and Aeryn want is a peaceful home for themselves and their son and Scorpius is willing to use every nasty trick in his arsenal to get at the "truth"… and that includes threatening baby Deke! Meanwhile, Rygel is showing that his time with Moya’s crew has left him with more tricks of his own and out in deep space Moya, Pilot and Noranti start the long trek back to help rescue their friends. Plots, counterplots, and flying by the seats of their pants – it’s all par for the course for this ragtag group but with Deke in tow, everything changes.

Between series creator Rockne O’Bannon and Keith R.A. Decandido, this story is moving from strength to strength. The hallmarks of the Farscape TV series included a mixture of characterization, complicated plots (in a good way), twists, turns and reversals, comedy intermixed with drama, and thrilling adventure. The comic book continues to prove that it still delivers all of that and more with new alien creatures and environments that were simply not possible with the constraints of television. Here the writers are completely free to unchain their imaginations and what they have done so far makes this reviewer look forward to whatever else they may have up their sleeves. The characters ring true to their established personas and the dialogue is so spot-on that readers can practically hear the voices of the actors reciting the lines.

The art provided by relative newcomer Tommy Patterson is shaping up nicely. He continues to familiarize himself with the characters and he is gaining in consistency in their depiction. The digital inks provided by Marshall Dillon, however, still seem a bit inconsistent. At times Dillon’s digital work is handled with a light, smooth touch and these are the pages that really come out the best but at other times the inks are heavier and scratchier and these pages end up seeming a bit too busy and less fluid.

For fans of the TV series, it really doesn’t get any better than this. These comics feel as though they could have come right from a "lost" episode of the TV series. For those who are not fans, however…. Why not? The series and the comic are packed with characters that are ultimately human no matter how alien they appear. They have faults and failings but they also have love, loyalty, friendship, and above all else, hope. There is comedy, drama, action, adventure, and spaceships. Farscape the comic book is space opera at its very best.