Review: Saucer State #2

Darryll Robson Darryll Robson
Contributor
June 29th, 2017

Lifetime reader of comics and fan of Planet of the Apes. When the two combine I can barely contain myself. Image, Boom and Titan comics fight for shelf space with Doctor Who DVDs.

Review: Saucer State #2
Comics
0
Review of: Saucer State #2
Price:
Exemplary

Reviewed by:
Rating:
5
On June 29, 2017
Last modified:June 29, 2017

Summary:

A beautifully crafted, emotional drama that happens to centre around Alien Encounters. Saucer State #2 is an enjoyable, complex narrative that is laying the groundwork for what promises to be an outstanding series.

Review of: Saucer State #2
Price:
Exemplary

Reviewed by:
Rating:

5
On June 29, 2017
Last modified:June 29, 2017

Summary:

A beautifully crafted, emotional drama that happens to centre around Alien Encounters. Saucer State #2 is an enjoyable, complex narrative that is laying the groundwork for what promises to be an outstanding series.

IDW Publishing brings us issue 2 of Saucer State depicting a world in turmoil with a potential invasion on the horizon. Our contributor, Darryll Robson, enters the fray to see if we stand a chance or should be heading for the hills.

Review: Saucer State #2

The aliens are coming and it is time to find out who the true believers are in the latest issue of Saucer State. But nothing is that simple, especially when you are the President of the United States. Get ready for Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly’s slow brewing alien invasion story/government conspiracy story; it’s still too early to tell which it is.

Saucer State

Credit: IDW Publishing

 

Synopsis

NASA have identified a ‘flying saucer’ at the edge of the solar system and it appears to be heading to Earth. Despite her experiences in recent years, this comes as a massive shock to President Arcadia and her team.

Their initial reaction is to control the situation. Arcadia wants to make sure that they are at the front of any investigation or first contact situation while, behind the scenes, she is desperate to gather as much information as she can.

Professor Kidd is sceptical even though he is one of the biggest believers, this is because the current situation doesn’t appear logical based on his previous experiences.

Chloe sees it as an opportunity for Arcadia to go public about her abduction.

Michael is away with the fairies holding onto his magical fairy cake. Yes, you read that correctly.

As the world starts to accept the possibility of an Alien encounter it is up to Arcadia to decide how to deal with the situation. Should she embrace it or distance herself and play her cards close to her chest? As this issue unfolds we get to see all of the possible reactions from every corner of the world. And in one corner, Major Abramowitz visits some old friends to get information and take a drive out into the desert.

Whether the aliens are real or a sham, the world is on edge and people have already started to die.

Saucer State

Credit: IDW Publishing

Analysis

According to Ryan Kelly’s twitter feed, there have been some complaints about the number of aliens in Saucer State. If this is true, then those people are going to be disappointed by this issue also. But I think those people are missing the point.

Saucer State is not so much about an actual alien invasion, at least not yet, but about how people react to the unknown. It’s about dealing with what you believe in when the majority have different views. There are parallels to religion in this issue especially as the world starts to interpret the situation in a number of different ways. The radio DJ Milton says it best in this issue, “Is this gonna be a war? Against the Greys or the Fat Tans or the Reptilians?”. Truth is nobody knows what is at the edge of the solar system but there are plenty of people on Earth ready to manipulate the situation.

The original Saucer Country was about personal experiences of extra-terrestrial encounters and how these people involved tried to get on with their lives, adapt to living with a great secret. This concept hasn’t changed in Saucer State, it’s just got much bigger. Cornell is asking what would you do if that thing that you believe only happened to you was suddenly a worldwide phenomenon? Would you celebrate or become more of a recluse?

Arcadia is the focal point of this theme. She has been waiting for years for her experience to be vindicated but now that it has, is she in a position to tell the truth? She still doesn’t know what the Truth actually is and Cornell surrounds her character with a host of different opinions; like the different voices within her head each giving her contradictory advice.  Arcadia is a woman torn.

Saucer State

Credit: IDW Publishing

 

This is a tricky issue for Ryan Kelly to illustrate because of the amount of the speech, there is a lot of exposition and discussion, but he handles it brilliantly. The focus is on the characters which allows Kelly to show off his ability to draw human emotions (maybe one day we’ll get Alien emotions). There are a high number of facial close ups with panels relying on Kelly to illustrate the complexity of a situation with a single look.

This is where this comic works best. It is a human drama not a summer blockbuster movie. That’s not to say it isn’t packed with action and suspense, however I think this is aimed more towards people who like their stories grounded. It is definitely more like Scully and less like Mulder.

Cornell and Kelly are crafting a political, human drama which has more in common with Warren Ellis’ Trees than it does with the Mars Attacks franchise. If you’ve come looking for a plethora of aliens you won’t find what you’re looking for but you will find a well-crafted, emotional drama fit to rival the best episodes of the X-Files.

Darryll Robson is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Occasionally he remembers his Twitter account: @DarryllRobson

Saucer State #2

  • 5

Exemplary

A beautifully crafted, emotional drama that happens to centre around Alien Encounters. Saucer State #2 is an enjoyable, complex narrative that is laying the groundwork for what promises to be an outstanding series.

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