June 1, 2014

A taste for alliteration.

S.F.
Ryan Cecil Smith
Koyama Press, 2013
59 pages, B&W, softcover

If only all saturday morning cartoons were this good. 

S.F. is Ryan Cecil Smith's version of waking up early, turning the tv on, sitting on the floor and telling your mom "just a minute!" when she orders you to have breakfast.

Fun and light-hearted, S.F. is a science fiction comic that plays with the genre's clichés and presents them as an all ages comic book.

This is the third volume of the series but, honestly, it's all pretty (literally) self-explanatory. An intergalactic organization of do gooders is in constant battle with evil, evil people. Kudos to Smith for those introductory first two pages - most comics nowadays forget that sometimes the reader isn't as informed as they "should" be.

Smith's cartooning is strangely familiar and clearly influenced by manga (particularly where shading is concerned) or its animation equivalent (Captain Harlock, anyone?). It's quite easy on the eyes.

The book's strength is in its pacing and character development. Each character has a bit of the spotlight and the book is better for it.

If you want a hardcore science fiction comic, this is not the book you're looking for (try Prophet by Brandon Graham et al.). If you have kids or just want to relive a bit of your lost childhood then go buy this!