When it comes to the comics practice of Owen D. Pomery there are certain key thematic examinations one might expect to see in a new release. Dark and quietly intense character studies, perhaps. Or psychogeographical explorations of how environment impacts on personality and action. But rollicking, high concept, science fiction action? Maybe not so much. But here we are with The Hard Switch, a space saga that takes a number of the standards of the genre and gives them a distinctly Pomery-esque twist. The result is one of his unlikeliest graphic novels to date but also one of his best.
It’s the premise of The Hard Switch that initially immediately captures the reader’s attention. Here we have a far future where interstellar travel has been made possible by a mineral called alcanite which, while once abundant, is now running out. Without it starships will no longer be able to make jumps across space, meaning that when the titular Hard Switch comes and there is no more alcanite everyone will be stuck for good in whatever part of the galaxy they are residing in.
In the last days before this momentous point in future history hardy crews of salvage experts locate old wrecks of ships on planets hoping to discover remnants of this now much sought-after commodity. Ada, Haika and the octopoidal Mallic are one such crew, living a nomadic life across the stars, making a sparse living from stripping abandoned spaceships. But a discovery on one such derelict vehicle hints at a long forgotten alternative mode of hyperspace travel; a revelation that will lead them to new allies, criminal enterprises, a people-smuggling operation, and a bitter fight for survival…
The parallels to our own reliance on unrenewable fossil fuels are, of course, intentionally obvious ones but Pomery’s set-up here underlines our own headlong rush into catastrophe with an eloquent immediacy. The Hard Switch is more than just topical allegory, though. It’s also a cleverly plotted piece of space opera that never stops us guessing, veering off the path of our narrative expectations on a number of occasions and ensuring that, while it may tease us with the conceits of the genre, it never overtly relies upon them.
In terms of visual ethos Pomery goes The Full Hergé here, with stripped back characters operating on an ultra detailed background, and his architectural passions (so popular on social media, of course) get a new, speculative outlook here. Look closely too at the use of colour in The Hard Switch with careful choices that can emphasise everything from the claustrophobic confines of a spaceship interior through to the vast, sprawling, desolate landscapes of an alien planet.
If there’s one area that is perhaps less satisfying in The Hard Switch it’s that, such is the fast pacing of the story as it moves from event to event and location to location, that characterisation takes a back seat to action. This, though, leads me to the hope that much like B. Mure’s Ismyre series of graphic novellas from Avery Hill, The Hard Switch could be the first in a procession of books set in this universe. We can only hope.
Owen D. Pomery (W/A) • Avery Hill Publishing, £15.99
Review by Andy Oliver
