Protector #1 Is An Exercise in Wonderful World-Building
by Mike Fugere, Mike FugereStory by
Simon Roy, Daniel Bensen
Art by
Artyom Trakhanov
Colors by
Jason Wordie
Letters by
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover by
James Stokoe
Publisher
Image Comics
Protector #1, Image Comics’ latest dystopian science fiction series (of which there are a plethora) is sharp in its execution and world-building, but leaves something to be desired on the narrative front. However, this isn’t due to bad storytelling or abysmal writing; it’s more a product of the truncation of single issues. Not every comic book is going to have a massive hook to draw broad audiences in right off the bat. Some need room to develop due to the breadth of their worlds. And let it be known: Protector #1 takes place in a world that feels wholly original and rife with deep lore and history.
This debut issue of a five-part miniseries centers on a young woman who stumbles across an ancient technology that is seemingly malicious. As the gorgeous James Skokoe cover would imply, this isn't your run-of-the-mill "Kid with the Leash" story. But what exactly Protector really is has yet to be seen, and that sense of uncertainty is a major draw.
Science fiction has no shortage of dystopian futures designed to act as giant yield signs for audiences. When these futures aren’t post-apocalyptic warnings against climate change or industrialization, they are warnings against the dehumanizing behavior of fascist regimes, totalitarianism and the horrible notion of thinking of a group of people as “less than.” No matter how shallow the actual product, these themes remain omnipresent throughout the genre; they’re inescapable. Protector #1 doesn’t overtly nourish modern-day Henny Penny anxieties, but there are clues of a tumultuous history hidden in the background, and it’s a history humanity either didn’t learn from or took away the wrong lessons from.
The implications of its world are the biggest appeal of Protector #1. It presents an environment where you probably wouldn’t want to live but you’d at least want to visit, capturing the sense of awe all great works of science fiction strive for. There’s wonder, mystery, danger in Protector #1, and none of it feels perfunctory. Some elbow grease went into drafting the state of the year 3241 A.D. And with the setting being set so far in the future, you can’t cry foul against it. Who’s to say the shambles of humanity won't look like this a thousand years in the future?
Co-writers Simon Roy (Prophet) and science fiction novelist Daniel M. Bensen are minimalistic when it comes to expository dialogue and straightforward narration. What little information we do glean from the words on the page utilize arcane, yet earnest, language. In fact, the vast majority of information about the world of Protector #1 is relegated to appendices at the end of the issue. One might see this sort of thing and wonder if it’s simply a matter of lazy storytelling, but that’s not the case here. If anything, the information presented at the end of the issue is there to confirm narrative suspicions readers might have if they engaged with the comic.
Undertow artist, Artyom Trakhanov presents a naturalistic flow that galvanizes the visual language of Protector #1. His heavy use of inks and exaggerated facial features give a classic "comix" vibe that a lot of stuff out there is lacking. Trakhanov takes great care with each page, filling panels with visual cues to what happened to the world. The visual tone of the book also owes a debt of gratitude to colorist Jason Wordie, who is doing a wonderful job keeping this world grounded by using a bold, yet simple color palette. Also, there is a great panel featuring the most realistically expressive goose you'll see in comics this year. Bet. On. That.
Ultimately, Protector #1, isn't for everyone, but for those of us who dig on dense, arcane science fiction with a strong sense of place and plenty of visual flare, this comic is one to check out. The plotting moves, the art sings and the post-issue appendix is something more comics should be doing for stories like this.
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