Review: PSI-LORDS #6

Over the last few years writing comics that feature characters and/or heroes in space has become an intensely competitive sport. Valiant Entertainment“s PSI-LORDS #6 enters the fray this week as it continues to make progress in finding its best narrative footing. Without a doubt, the bar on space stories in comics has been set high in recent times. Written by Fred Van Lente with wavy artwork from Renato Guedes, PSI-LORDS has to distinguish itself in the shadows of contemporary critical darlings like SAGA, Black Science, Vagrant Queen and Wasted Space. The series opens with the protagonists (a team of four), escaping imprisonment. In those early issues, Scion ”“ their liberator, was a good guy and a budding mentor. And the Starwatchers were their evil captors and the autocratic rulers of the realm (The Gyre) tethered to a nearby Vampire star.

By the time readers have arrived at the opening of “Balance of Power”“ (PSI-LORDS #6), things have shifted. Scion is not their mentor but their enemy. And the Starwatchers might still be the bad guys, but our team ”“ Beacon, Hazard, Artisan, and Tank ”“ are on trial. Misnamed as the “Astro Friends,”“ the four recently liberated heroes are being tried for the murder of one of the Wardens of the Gyre ”“ prison guards empowered by the Starwatchers to police the prisoners of the planet. Generally speaking, trials have a way of solidifying the dramatic core of any good story. And the event works similarly here for the PSI-LORDS series.

Even though the enemies and allies of the “Astro Friends”“ have still yet to be determined, the personalities of the protagonists are starting to emerge in the conflicts of the trial. A flashback for Artisan provides some important backstory on his character and will help readers to come to a better understanding of why he is the way that he is. This flashback bodes well for the series as readers will want (and need) to know more about the “Astro Friends”“ in order to stay vested in the book going forward.

The trial unfolds and readers are treated to the various alien species that make up the Wardens of the Gyre. As the necessary battles ensue, our heroes realize that there might actually be a way off of this planet. And this ”“ the possibility of a way off the Gyre ”“ is an exciting turn for the heroes of PSI-LORDS. Who knows exactly what lies ahead for Beacon, Hazard, Artisan, and Tank, but getting them out and into space is exactly what this storyline needs.

SCORE: 3.5/5

(W) Fred Van Lente (A) Renato Guedes (CA) Raul Allen