Who will be the first person to travel to mars? There’s work going on now to determine who that might be in reality. Traveling to Mars is that story, with a twist, it’s written by brilliant satirist Mark Russell. Roy Livingston has the honor to be that person. A great pilot? Some brave astronaut? Nope, Livingston, the first human to ever set foot on Mars, is a former pet store owner. Why does he have the honor? He’s terminally ill and there’s no expectation he’ll return. Russell kicks off a twisted sci-fi adventure in Traveling to Mars #1.
Roy is joined on his mission by Leopold and Albert, two Mars rovers equipped with artificial intelligence, who look upon the dying pet store manager as a sort of God. Russell delivers an interesting, and somewhat surprising debut in Traveling to Mars #1. Russell is known for not just delivering entertaining stories but packing them in with so much humor and even better, skewering society at the same time. He delivers a lot of that here, but it’s also a rather poignant story as well.
Traveling to Mars #1 introduces us to Livingstone and how he got to where he is. We learn about his childhood and how he pretty much went nowhere. He manages a pet store and has had a fairly uneventful life. There’s a bit of sadness to it all and Russell does an excellent job of mixing what easily could be a depressing story with a lot of small jokes that keeps the melancholy at bay.
Russell is joined by Roberto Meli on art. The two is an interesting combo. Often with Russell’s stories, the art is vital to the jokes. Panels are packed with subtle digs throughout and keeps readers on their toes. Traveling to Mars #1 features some of that but it’s not to the usual extent we see. But, Meli’s art is vital in telling Roy’s story. We get a sense of his life, both past and present, through the visuals and get a better sense of who he is. The visuals build some sympathy in some ways that just “telling” wouldn’t do.
Traveling to Mars #1 delivers a story of reflection. We’re teased with the story of a man who hasn’t done much with his life and finding meaning in his final days. I’m positive we’re going to see a lot of surprises as the story progresses as Livingstone reflects on life and deals with his new robot friends. This feels like a series that’s going to not just deliver some laughs but also very well might tug at heart strings as well.
Story: Mark Russell Art: Roberto Meli
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy
Ablaze provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
