Review of Future Sci-Fi Tales #1 and #2

Indie Comic Series: Future Sci-Fi Tales

Reviewed by Lyndon Perry (affiliate links)

Future Sci-Fi Tales #1 (Oct 2018) from SnowyWorks (snowyworks.com) is the first of seven comic books (I believe) in this series created by Drew D. Lenhart. They feature collections of brief and entertaining comics and short stories. Most of the issues are available to read for free online (globalcomix.com) or download from Google Play or Amazon. (I've read the digital versions, btw.)

There are 5 quick reads in this first issue (black and white interior, 32 pages), all written by Lenhart. I found them engaging, a bit minimalist but often thought-provoking and quirky at the same time. The first comic is about mutant rodents called "Crizens" (10 pages with a page of background on the alien rat). Takes place in the year 2138, dystopic setting, angry farmer named Tenny, the screaching rats finally get on his nerves. The solution seems obvious, but Tenny's wife has a different plan. The art by Louie Escauriaga is a little frenetic but fits the vibe of the story. The 6-page sequel, "Tenny's Revenge," puts the final - but unexpected - nail in the coffin. Fun little 2-parter.

The next comic is a cute 5-page family drama with a nice twist. Escauriaga's sketches aren't as dystopic in this story but they still convey an energy that is compelling. Following this is a flash fiction piece (7 pages) without art called "Calzer's Clock" - a mantel clock whose hands should never be wound backwards! The ending is expected and slightly gimmicky, but flash fiction often relies on the gotcha finish. Enjoyable tale.

The last comic is just 3 pages called "Slowbot" (art by Lee Milewski) about an interstellar ship with 400 passengers and systems run completely by computers. I'm not sure if I got the point other than it took a long time to reboot. Still, intriguing. Overall, some fun sci-fi scenarios, super quick read, easy to digest, and entertaining. 4 stars. I'll definitely read the others in the series. (Review originally published on Goodreads.)

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Future Sci-Fi Tales #2 (April 2019) published by Drew D. Lenhart of SnowyWorks.com is a 40-page comic book with 3 comics and a short story by Lenhart that features an accompanying color illustration by Mike Cody. Unlike the first issue, the comics here are not written by Lenhart, but they are all well done. Quick and entertaining reads - like illustrated flash fiction.

The first entry is a 12-page comic titled "Clint Darius Homecoming," (I think Darius should have a possessive apostrophe) written and co-created by Jason Aaron Wong, and drawn and co-created by Francisco Paronzini; colored by Sandra Molina Juan and lettered by Dead Robot. Clint Darius is a space traveler stuck on an alien world. He needs to collect three magic artifacts from three royal princesses in various kingdoms to unlock the portal to return to earth. The story is well done, and the artwork is vivid and detailed. I had to read it twice, though, to understand the transitions and the surprising ending. Probably not the creators’ fault. I just miss things!

The second tale is an 8-page black and white comic written by Petri Hänninen, art by Andrea Meneghin. This is a horror story about an astro-scientist gone mad years after saving a marooned astronaut, marrying her and having a child. The child, all grown up, seeks answers to his father’s illness. The additional characters on the last two pages confused me so I had to read this story again to get the ‘ah ha’ ending. Overall, the plot was solid, and the line art was clean and expressive, if at times appropriately aggressive.

The third adventure is the short story by Drew D. Lenhart, “Crizen’s Journey,” which harkens back to Issue 1’s first comic about mutant alien rodents. These animals come from the planet Trappist 4. It’s a cool backstory about space explorer Jonathan Crizen and his ill-fated decision to bring back to Earth some living specimens – eventually named crizens – from his journey.

Wrapping up Issue 2 is a 6-page comic, “Clockwork Blues,” with art and story by L J Phillips. A nicely done minimalist, dystopic tale about human nature with bold, blocky, black and white drawings. It’s a kind of ‘enforcer’ story with a noir finish. The whole comic book was entertaining and I enjoyed the variety of stories and art styles in this short anthology.

Most of the flash fiction-like offerings in these first two issues of Future Sci-Fi Tales had surprise endings, which is often the case in such short works – and in most cases, the storytelling strategy did its job. 4.5 stars, for me. (I read the digital version.) Recommended series for those who enjoy sci-fi, space opera, dystopian, and far-future adventures. Most can be read online for free as well. (Review originally appeared on Goodreads.)

Review of Zorann: Star-Warrior #1

Been backing some indie comics lately on Kickstarter and came across this one last year. I finally got around reading it! I'd bought the digital (PDF) edition and enjoyed it!

Zorann: Star-Warrior #1 is a 40 page, black and white comic that was co-created by artist Dell Barras and writer Craig A. Stormon. It was first published in 1989 by Blue Comet at 32 pages, with B&W interior. It was republished via a 2024 Kickstarter campaign by Drew D. Lenhart (letters, editor, publisher) of SnowyWorks with color covers by Bea Navarro.

This comic consists of two stories – a complete 23-page Zorann adventure and a 5-page preview (the prologue) of Bladesmen Book 1 – “A Gathering of Hawks!” There are also 11 full page illustrations, the credits page, an ad for another comic, and the original color cover of the 1989 edition. Plus, the front and back color cover, of course.

As described at MyComicShop.com, this is: “A double-helping of fantasy adventure inspired by the great pulp and comics heroes of the past. Zorann, a Conan-style barbarian warrior on a prehistoric alien world, battles monstrous beasts and evil magic astride his telepathic pterodactyl.” 

That’s a good summary, and the alien world setting would make this a sword and planet tale, thus Zorann is called a star-warrior. Unfortunately, after a search online, I couldn’t find any other issues beyond this inaugural book. The good news is, I contacted SnowyWorks and Drew Lenhart told me that Dell Barras is working on a second issue which will probably come out next year. So that’s super cool.

This initial episode is titled, “My Enemies Blood.” And I wondered if it shouldn’t be “My Enemies’ Blood.” There are a few more editorial and typographical errors sprinkled throughout the comic. The most glaring was a line about the failure of the evil guards to defeat Zorann; instead: “All three were exposed of.” The phrase should be ‘disposed of’ since Zorann defeated them. 

As for the actual storyline, it’s quite the adventure! Maybe a bit overly dramatic at times, bordering on campy. The plotting was somewhat uneven as well – the action jumped from one crisis to the next, skipping, in my opinion, some much-needed exposition or transition elements. Spoilers ahead…

Zorann saves the sorceress Relonda and her much younger brother, then he saves a telepathic pterodactyl which he rides to her castle only to find that Relonda and the soul-stone have been taken by the Demon-Man Raggal, leader of the Blood-Realm, which is an unknown land, its location no one knows…and yet Zorann finds it and, of course, seeks to rescue the sorceress before Raggal unleashes his minions from the pit of darkness and fire! 

It felt like the authors wanted to cram too much story into too little space with a lot of ‘figure it out yourself’ assumptions left for the reader to make. I mean, it was a fun ride but kind of over-the-top at times. Now I’m not a comic book expert, so maybe ‘big action’ is simply a common feature of this kind of storytelling. Plus, this issue intentionally harkens back to the classic pulp and Conan era, so I’m probably being too harsh in my critique – it was a very entertaining read and I really enjoyed the comic.

Another minor complaint, though, is some inconsistent drawings when it came to the illos of Relonda. She’s a sorceress but her facial features and costume sometimes change from one section to the next. Again, I’m not a comic book expert so I’m not commenting on the quality of the artwork, which I thought was pretty cool for the most part.

Overall, Zorann #1 is fun romp and I’m glad I backed the campaign that saw its revival. You can read the original online here: https://readallcomics.com/zorann-star-warrior-full/

In the second comic about the Bladesmen, the description from MyComicShop also nails it: “In ‘A Gathering of Hawks,’ warriors from four kingdoms join forces against the monster terrorizing their land. Arthon, Alegra the Amazon, Elvore the elf, and Ricotto the Centaur band together to become the Bladesmen.” 

The monster is a demon-like monstrosity, Arkella the Arcane. And the plot hints at a secret strategy to defeat her in battle.

This preview (too short!) grabbed my attention and it left me wanting more. So I did some research and found 3 or 4 more issues of this comic – and eventually finish reading the story!

Rating: 4.5 stars for the teaser, both story and artwork. The whole issue? Solid 4 out of 5. Recommended for S&S/Conan comic fans.  

Spec Fic Graphic Novels

I admit up front - I am not too conversant with the genre of epic comics and/or the world of graphic novels. It's a fascinating and visually interesting medium, I am just not familiar enough with what makes a particular product a success. So I've enjoyed reading a few reviews lately, having discovered that January is, in fact, comic book appreciation month!

Now, I have read Gareth Hinds' Beowulf and was quite impressed with its faithfulness to the original epic, even though it is necessarily a minimalist rendering. Of course, most of us should be familiar with Maus: A Survivors Tale, the seminal work (and holocaust autobiography) of Art Spiegelman. But other than a handful of other stories (like Batman: The Dark Knight and The Watchmen from the 1980s), I'd be hard-pressed to name many more.

That's why I try to keep abreast of the projects by the group of writers I've come to know via the forums I frequent. I discover new gems all the time, including an S&S comic called The Marsh God by Bruce Durham and illustrated by Michael "Mikos" Mikolajczyk (and published by Cyberwizard Productions). You can purchase a copy for only $10 at comiXpress. At one of my favorite haunts, SFReader.com, I've had the opportunity to meet and interact with some great folks like Bruce. In fact, The Marsh God is actually an adaptation of Durham's short story by the same name and published in 2005 at Flashing Swords magazine.

So while I 'don't know much 'bout graph-ology' (sing along if you know the words), I'm learning, thanks to some new friends on the web. Thanks, people, and keep up the great work. I look forward to discovering more gems out there.