Review: Space Boy Volume 2

As I went through my books for the week my first impression of Space Boy was not positive.Â I wasn’t sure what to expect when I turned the page on Space Boy volume 2.Â I’ll freely admit that I had never heard of this book and by extension I hadn’t read the first volume.Â I just didn’t think that it was going to be my cup of tea though I had no animus one way or the other.Â However, I think it’s my responsibility to you, the readers of my reviews, that I read each book with an open mind before 1) deciding if I’m going to review the book and 2) how I am going to review the book.Â I went back and got an idea of what happened in volume 1 and then dove into volume 2.Â So, with that rather nebulous introduction I’ll say….I enjoyed the book.Â I thought it was a sweet page turner with a hidden depth to its story that was intriguing and compelling.

As in volume 1 of Space Boy, the point of view character for the book is Amy.Â Amy is a high school age transplant from a distant asteroid that was sent to Earth by her father.Â The story follows Amy’s life as she adjusts to the new realities of living on an actual planet while navigating high school in a distant future.Â The artwork is sweet and innocent (probably why it didn’t appeal to me at first) and is a perfect companion to Amy and her story.Â At one point in the story she is horrified that the trees are losing their leaves as she has never experienced Autumn before.Â However, as she adjusts to this new reality she discovers the joys of diving into a pile of leaves for the first time.Â It is one heart warming moment among many that contributed to my growing enjoyment of the book with each page turn.

As the story progresses Amy meet the titular character, Oliver.Â Oliver provides the nebulous, perhaps insidious, elements of the story which make the book much more than just a poignant fish out of water story.Â When Amy and Oliver first meet we get this wonderfully strange encounter between light and dark as the two converse past each other before finally meeting and becoming friends (if not more in the future).Â Amy is the innocent soul, young at heart and enjoying each new experience as she revels in her new life.Â Oliver is an existential nihilist, numb in the knowledge that reality may be an illusion and existence is mostly empty space with fleeting fragments of substance.Â The growing relationship between the two as the book progresses captivates you.Â Oliver’s back story is not yet fully known and some mysterious organization is in control of him and his destiny. This fact raises your anxiety level as you read the book and makes you want to know more when this volume invariably ends.

I went into this review not knowing what to expect.Â I left wanting to read more of this unfolding story.Â That is the mark of good writing regardless of its genre.Â However, since this is a comic book we must also take into consideration the artwork which contributes to the storytelling.Â In this case, the artist has chosen to draw this book in the style of Amelia Bedelia or Madeline.Â Those two children’s books are apt examples of this art style because, like Amy, the two main characters in those works are also innocent souls experiencing the world around them with a heartwarming naivete’.Â Â The fact that Stephen McCrainie has also chosen to give us depth, mystery and intrigue elevates this book immeasurably.

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Writing and Art – Stephen McCrainie

Author Profile

Nemesis

Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.