Black Star

May 3, 2021
This extraterrestrial survival thriller from Glover, making his debut with Jovellanos (the Jem and the Holograms series), beats with emotional tension and suspenseful action, despite some muddy exposition and character development. Harper North is a research scientist on an interstellar mission to a distant planet to harvest a flower species that may heal cancer. All of her crewmates are women, and among them are her rival, wilderness expert Parrish, and lighthearted medic Fletcher, who is Parrish’s lover. An asteroid shower damages their craft and ignites a fire onboard while the crew is in stasis. North breaks free from her chamber but chooses not to risk her life to save Fletcher and Parrish, making the latter a bitter antagonist in the cat and mouse game that ensues after a crash landing on the planet. North treks through brutal storms and grueling terrain with the help of an AI-powered visor that serves as her guide and offers flashback holograms, which are well rendered but interrupt the momentum. Jovellanos injects energy with fluid action, expressive character design, and a radiant color palette with blazing red wildfires and icy blue shuttle scenes. Despite its narrative flow flaws, this offers a nifty take on interpersonal conflicts in interspace, bolstered by snazzy art. Agents: Joe Riley, Zero Gravity Management, and Karen Kaller, Illustration X.

December 3, 2021

DEBUT In this sci-fi graphic novel adapted from Glover's unproduced screenplay, arrogant scientist Harper North and her crewmate Samantha Parrish crash-land on a dangerous planet during a mission to find an alien flower with curative properties. But because the crash damages the mothership, it will only be possible to return to Earth via a small shuttle ejected some distance away--and it can carry only one passenger. Driven by ego and a savior mentality, North abandons her crewmates trapped in the crash and heads off to find the flower and the shuttle. But the furious Parrish has broken free from the ship's wreckage and, after failing to save a dead crewmate/lover, gets a head start on North. The two women's savage struggle for survival and glory brings out the worst in both. Although they are seriously flawed, both antagonists are driven by understandable motives. The realistic kinetic art from Jovellanos (Fresh Romance) throbs with strong, contrasting colors. VERDICT Despite the sometimes-unclear narrative flow, the story is gripping thanks to the inventiveness of the pair's planetary struggles, plus the psychological twists. A good choice for readers attracted to survivalist thrillers and women protagonists.

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