Space noir, noir in space. What more could you ever want?
WRITTEN BY: Michael Moreci
ART BY: Vic Malhotra
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: September 24, 2014
Reviewed By: Torin Chambers
Roche Limit is a crime noir set in, you guessed it, space. In space and in a manmade colony (The Roche Limit Colony) within the planet Dispater, on the edge of an energy anomaly in the Andromeda Galaxy. This anomaly was spotted from Earth and has some very strange properties. It operates like a black hole but with none of the immense gravitational effects of gravity. This has led humanity to set up the colony on Dispater because of its proximity. None of the wonders of this anomaly play into anything directly in this first issue, but I can see it gradually unfolding its secrets to us.
The Roche Limit Colony has an absolutely magnificent ‘Blade Runner’ feel about it. Even in this first issue the colony comes alive with numerous varied locals. It’s got cramped and noisy places, walls that are riddled with rivets from countless repairs and covered in a thick grime. It’s also got spacious apartments, ritzy high end clubs and notably seedy bars. The Roche Limit Colony is a character in and of itself, teeming with personality and interest.
Two paragraphs in and I suppose I should briefly touch on our protagonists. We’re first introduced to Sonya Torin (her last name is my first name, that’s super neat to me and no one else) a hard as nails woman looking for her sister Bekkah. Besides her justifiably anger over her sister and a past as a cop, we only get ever-so-tiny peaks at who Sonya really is. For now she comes off as pretty flat and uninteresting but with the promise of future development.
On the very next page we meet the unquestionably dubious but also infinitely cool Alex Ford. Alex Ford is a young Harrison Ford, there no other way about it. He’s a smart-assed, cocky son of a bitch who seems to be on everyone’s bad-side. Finding a sense of comradery or compassion or possibly an angle he could work in his favor, Alex steps in and helps Sonya out. He lost an older brother in the past and her plight has “triggered” something in him that make him want to help her.
“Roche Limit” is an astounding introduction to a rich and intricate world. It’s not perfect, but it’s got heart. The only real stumble is with the characterization of Sonya, who as of this first issue I couldn’t care less about. Especially when compared to Alex Ford she might as well have been a cardboard cutout. I can only hope she’s fleshed out in the coming issues. Roche Limit has got all of its building blocks spread out on the table now, I have nothing but the utmost confidence that Michael Moreci will build greatness.
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Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter @TorinsChambers