Review: Prism Stalker #1

At first glance, Prism Stalker #1 (Image Comics) reads like a fantastic psychedelic sci-fi voyage to a far-reaching corner of the galaxy. Digging deeper into the narrative however, we find a story that is much closer to home than you first realize. What we have here, is a new comic series which allows itself to explore a foreign world on its own time and in this first issue writer/artist Sloane Leong proves they are not afraid to challenge us to buckle up and go along for the ride.
Reading the first few pages, you may begin to wonder where this story is going. The world building, as displayed in the art, is truly unique. We have a people, who seem to be living inside some type of hive, that resembles more a central nervous system than any world we are used to seeing. This colorful display of imagination had me examining each panel deeply, looking to see if I could find any hidden images within the madness. As we move on, we are introduced to Vep, who is our young protagonist. Her internal dialogue tells us that she is a refugee and her people are allowed to live within this, the hive of The Sverans, in exchange for their services in harvesting eggs from The Mother.

Artistically, this comic is beautiful. The oddly organic surroundings are odd enough to make you slightly uncomfortable. This is what good art is supposed to do right? The story, as I mentioned seems a bit slow to develop, but as I read through the book, I was ok with this, because there was so much depth to the art. There is something big going on here, but it“s going to take more than one issue to truly develop.

Sloane Leong has created a story about a displaced people, just trying to survive. She gives us a heroine to focus on, who sees the culture and history of her people dying before her eyes and is willing to do anything she can to stop this from happening. She is looking for a way out and has the opportunity is thrust upon her to do just this. This could easily be a story about any number of people, on our own pale blue dot of a world, who have been forced to leave their home, but I think it“s much easier to digest as a faraway science fiction work. As you read the story however, don“t lose site of the fact that this tale, like any really good piece of art, is really finding a way to shine a mirror allowing us to examine ourselves.

For fans of sci-fi, horror, or for anyone who finds themselves pulling for the downtrodden to have their voices heard, this comic will serve you well. I“m looking forward to the ongoing series, and following Vep, her family, and her people as this journey begins.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Sloane Leong (CA) Darius Ou (A/CA) Sloane Leong

In Shops: Mar 07, 2018
Diamond Code:Â JAN180614

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Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.