MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Between the recently released Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and the upcoming Avatar sequel, The Way of Water, there’s a lot of exciting sci-fi content to sink our teeth into – and comics has a wide variety of quality titles worth reading. Part Three in a three-part series of articles:
Saga (Writer: Brian K. Vaughan. Artist: Fiona Staples)
Two star-crossed soldiers from opposing sides of an interstellar war go on the run to start a family. This psychedelic epic by Vaughan and Staples is now 60 issues long, but it’s worth tracking down the graphic novels thanks to the powerful imagery and its relevant sociopolitical commentary on our world today. Espionage, romance, war, comedy, and suspense – Saga has it all and is a very binge-worthy read.
BRZRKR (W: Matt Kindt/Keaanu Reeves. Artist: Ron Garney):
Yes, that Keanu Reeves! This story about an immortal warrior working for the US government in exchange for their help to uncover the mystery of his origin was created by the actor himself. Come for the very bloody visceral violence and stay for the fascinating story of scientists trying to make sense of the mystical. Reeves intends to adapt his IP into a movie, an anime, and a video game so get into the ground floor before it becomes a multimedia juggernaut.
ALIEN (W: Phillip Kennedy Johnson. A: Salvador Larroca/Julius Ohta):
It’s the further adventures of everyone’s favorite chest-bursting Xenomorph! Taking its cues from the first two movies (arguably the critical benchmark for the franchise), the creators tell tales that are a mix of science fiction action and horror. The series actually feels like an anthology of sorts with every six issues focusing on a different set of characters dealing with the alien but it’s all very interconnected. Kennedy writes highly empathetic heroes, making it incredibly hard when they fall victim to these nasty creatures.
Lazarus Risen (W: Greg Rucka. A: Michael Lark):
In a future controlled by wealthy family mega-conglomerates, each family has a genetically/cyber-netically engineered champion called a Lazarus. While revolving around Forever Carlyle, the Lazarus of the Carlyles, the most powerful family in the world, Rucka and Lark lays out several subplots that take their time to pay off but when they do – the climaxes are worth the wait! And the world-building alone is so immersive and encompassing thanks to the articles found every issue, readers can live and breathe this world for days on end!.
