New Title Review: FEAR OF A RED PLANET from AfterShock Comics

FEAR OF A RED PLANET #1 by Mark Sable and Andrea Olimpieri (AfterShock, November 2022) The advance promotional information on FEAR OF A RED PLANET refers to the new AfterShock comic as a blend of western adventure with science fiction. I feel that, aside from the myriad of Star Wars comics, science-fiction is an under-utilized genre in comics so I looked forward to this title. I’m ready for a good “space western.” 

     FEAR OF A RED PLANET is the story of Marshall Carolina Law,  the only law enforcement officer for a small community of hard-working miners on a Mars colony. She’s suddenly faced with investigating the first murder on the planet in fifteen years. 

     The descriptions reminded me of a favorite guilty pleasure movie from 1981, OUTLAND, with Sean Connery and Peter Boyle. It was essentially a retelling of the classic HIGH NOON western film but set on an international space station. Sean Connery plays the sheriff, who upsets the corporate rulers who then send a spaceship full of hitmen after him. Rather than escape from the station, he decides to stay and fight. When a concerned worker asks him “what about your men?", Connery utters my favorite line of the film “my men are shit.”

       The outward signs indicate that FEAR OF A RED PLANET is a western set in space. However,  like the better blends of those two genres (the classic tv series FIREFLY comes to mind) after reading the debut issue it’s evident there’s so much more going on here than a simple story. 

     A standard rule for writing good fiction is “show, don’t tell” and there are plenty of examples of that in Issue #1. In fact, so much detail is provided that it took a second reading for me to fully appreciate the story. Along with Marshall Carolina, there are six other characters who will most likely play pivotal roles in the evolving storyline. They are all introduced in Issue #1 and we learn about them through their actions and dialogue. I’m surprised and also impressed with how fast-paced this introduction is while writer Mark Sable manages to work all these side issues and reveals into the story without interrupting the flow.  

   It also required a second reading/viewing to fully appreciate the work of Italian artist/colorist Andrea Olimpieri, an unconventional style that is very expressive in staging, panel size and placement, and choice of colors/hues. If you’re tired of paying for comics that you can read in 10 minutes and remember every detail, then you will surely get more for your money in FEAR OF A RED PLANET.

    The Mars colony was established in 2050 by Randolph Atlas, the C.E.O. of Atlas Aerospace and a visionary who believed in “rugged individualism” and saw the settlement as an escape from the shackles of life on Planet Earth. Unfortunately, that colony failed and the Atlas-Huoxing Gongs Corporation took over. By 2070 they have entrapped the small community of valuable mineral miners in a cycle of work to pay your debts, always owe the “company store” and never earn enough to return to Earth. Workers are placated by alcohol drugs, and sex workers — although that only serves to damp down their disgruntlement for a limited time.

   The text material in the back of the book is a written memorandum from the Corporation to Yates Reiser, the cruel Colonial Overseer in charge (and victim of brutality from revolting workers in Issue #1) that both reveals their interest in profits over human interests and indicates how they view all the other characters in the story (most are deplored but considered essential).  The text is packed with additional information about those pivotal characters and seems to violate that “show, don’t tell” rule. However, these characters are deep enough that this provides an essential reference to understanding the story and the relationships as it moves forward. I think I’ll be referring to this often.  A very good debut. I’m hoping that the creative team can deliver on the promise of a great story established here, and I feel confident that they will. FOUR STARS.