Cover: A spectacular alien vista graces the cover of this book. Created by Bob Eggleton this has the look of a classic painting from science fiction's past, but it's an all new piece... This is terrific. Overall grade: A+
Story: Omaha Perez has created an excellent science fiction story that creates both wonder and fear. A ship has had to settle on an alien world to survive. They're intergalactic miners and the planet they've found is a Super Terre, a "super Earth" -- a planet with a larger mass than Earth that has an environment suitable for human life. The book opens with a team exploring the alien ruins. Naturally the captain's orders are reiterated: stay together. That's when engineer Jorge Ramirez hears something and moves off on his own. He goes into a structure and encounters a cat sized robot. Thinking it to be a maintenance bot, he throws some rubble next to it and watches it scoop up the debris. Any fan of space stories or horror will have two thoughts running through their mind: 1, don't leave the group and, 2, don't fool around with alien technology, especially a robot -- no matter its size. It's the most elementary setup in the world, but Perez makes it gold. Naturally something occurs, but not what the reader was expecting. The group returns to headquarters to meet with the captain and discuss Ramirez's absence. What happens to Ramirez soon happens to others, but Perez is not going to tell this story in a linear fashion. There are flashbacks where conflicts with the crew are shown as well as how they ended up on this world. The characters are very strong, with Dee McCabe being the voice of sanity as the ship's psychologist, Captain Booth is not confident in his own decisions since he's just a flyboy who's logged the most hours, Phillip McCabe (Dee's husband) fears his relationship with his wife is crumbling, Jones is the sexist pig miner, Julia the Bible quoting doomsayer, and Davies the ship's planetologist who seems to be more interested in the alien surroundings than his peers... Each advances the plot as characters are murdered and the dwellings slowly reveal their ancient hidden history. The reveal of the antagonist is genuinely surprising as is the crew's fate. This delivers the delights and dangers of a classic science fiction tale. Overall grade: A+
Art: There are five chapters in this massive 150 paged tome. The first chapter is illustrated by Greg Hinkle... and Tony Talbert did chapters 2 - 5. Both men have created some drop dead gorgeous work in glorious black and white... The design of the alien civilization is staggering. It's both aged and unearthly. It gave me the same sense of wonder the first time I looked upon the classic work of Wally Wood from EC Comics' books... The double-paged spread of Pages 2 and 3 is jaw dropping and more than worth the cover price alone. The attention to detail is also strong when something violent happens, and it does indeed occur. Hinkle also does an excellent job with the futuristic tech of the humans... Talbert's work is equally strong, with his visuals... similar to the work of Moebius. His art absolutely takes the reader on a trip to a place they're never seen, with the paintings on walls stunning and the flashbacks to the alien civilizations mesmerizing. The views of the past have all the exotic wonder of Richard Corben's work. I would have been happy if the story had just followed the one individual who decides to investigate the planet, the visuals were so beautiful. And just as the reader is lost in the splendor of the settings, the horror reappears to remind one that this is not a safe world. This is the way all science fiction stories should be illustrated. Overall grade: A+
The final line: Every fan of science fiction and the terrors of space should pick this up. This makes one wish for space travel to be possible, yet fearful of what it may reveal. Recommended. Overall grade: A+
-Patrick Hayes / SCIFIPULSE.NET
Super Terre.r is an out-of-this-world adventure that's perfectly described by its cover page. Artist Bob Eggleton creates an extraterrestrial vision with several explorers standing in the midst of an alien planet; it's made apparent by multiple moons or planets in the sea blue sky. The cover also highlights the abundance of foliage, as green moss covers every inch of tall towers, which are yet to be determined if they're man-made or not.
Omaha Perez writes this science fiction thriller and readers will appreciate its theme: space explorers stranded on a lush planet full of hidden artifacts of a lost society and unknown dangers. Perez captures our attention by immediately thrusting us into a deadly mystery surrounding the crashed landing party. Greg Hinkle and Tony Talbert illustrate this story in black and white, providing busy planetary terrain opposite violent murderous rage from an unknown enemy.
Super Terre is a planet found miraculously after the ship's fuel resources have been drained. Was it sabotage? Why would someone want to prevent the ship from moving forward? It's fortunate the crew found its way to this Earth-like planet - perhaps it's more than luck. The sequence of events after surviving the landing begs to question whether survival is even an optimistic vantage point. It doesn't take too long for some to realize their situation is far worse than anyone could have anticipated.
The characters in this graphic novel are diverse, ranging from lewd, arrogant crewman to concerned, albeit aloof personnel, making this horrifying tale much more sinister than readily apparent from the cover page. Perez provides the classic approach to storytelling: introduce a character alone in one panel, have that person recognize someone else who isn't shown or hidden in the shadows, and then, BLAM, another one bites the dust.
Perez creates a mind-bending mystery wrapped in science fiction. Readers follow side by side with the stranded crew on Super Terre. They travel along as curiosity surrounds ancient wall art and those attempting to decipher it. They hope to discover who is responsible for all of the "accidents" before there isn't anyone left. Was it by chance that they found this planet? Does the reason they crash landed somehow coincide with the many deaths that have happened since finding this unfamiliar world? The reader will be intrigued as this mystery begins early and continues through to the last pages.
-Fan Base Press
From the very first moment you pick up your copy of Super Terre.r you are thrown into that classic sci-fi realm that was made popular with cheap dime novels of the 50's and 60's, where writers like Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury were pumping out stories and getting paid by the word, and where men like Isaac Asimov, through his creative look at the science of space travel and robotics, literally transformed the way future scientists looked at those very same topics.
Written by Omaha Perez (Drude), Super Terre.r drops you immediately into an abandoned alien world and mixes in equal parts thriller and horror story to bring about a fully formed and totally satisfying story.
A company ship crash lands on an alien world out of desperation, it is the closest inhabitable planet, and the descent into madness quickly takes hold. This story focuses on one core group, the captain, the psychologist, her husband, a disgraced archaeologist, and a couple others, but don't' get too attached to any of them, because this Earth doppleganger has more lethal surprises up its' sleeve than you would first thing.
Most of the story is told from the p.o.v. of Dee McCabe, the company psychologist, as they try to figure out who or what is killing the members of the crew and destroying the robotic assistants they deem so vital to the success of their mission. Through her Perez can cleverly deflect or focus suspicion and have it seem totally legit because it is her profession. Meanwhile he is leading us down a far darker path.
The other major character is Davies, the aforementioned disgraced [planet]ologist, who finds the abandoned city on the planet a source of endless fascination. What he sees in those cities changes as the story progresses, first his lifelong ambition, then perhaps, redemption.
Now back to that first moment, the second you open up the file or pick up the book, depending on your preference in reading. The cover art is a fantastic Bob Eggleton piece, something that would look at home on the cover of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, a green mountainous landscape with the tiny figures of our explorers in the foreground.
First chapter now, art by Greg Hinkle (Rattler). I would watch Hinkle draw a bath. It would be a super cool, slightly altered, seriously cartoony bath. I love his style, a mix of Mad Magazine caricature and semi-realism that scratches that arty itch at the back of my brain in the perfect way. His is the kind of art that makes me want to draw more.
The rest of the book is drawn by Tony Talbert (First Moon) and is a great addition to the book. His style is more realistic than Hinkle's and both that and the change in grey-scaling was a bit jarring as you were going from chapter one to chapter two, but after one section it was as if Talbert had been drawing it all along. He doesn't shy away from the gory bits, that stuff that edges this from just sci-fi into sci-fi horror, and that makes them all the more scary as the story sinks deeper into the madness it ends up in. Whatever shaky ground the book may have been on because of the art switch was held together by the firm hand of Perez at the helm, penning a script that could probably hold one more art switch had it been needed.
Super Terre.r is a great throwback to early science fiction, one that was a great welcome, and something I did't realize I'd wanted until I read it. Omaha Perez built a horror/sci-fi story that could rival many of those old stories, and I'd gladly pay him the penny-a-word rate that his forebears were getting, though it would probably be cheaper to just buy the book.
-Brad Gischia / BAG & BORED
