ADVANCE REVIEW: The Orville - New Beginnings #1 (of 2)

“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Orville; it’s ongoing mission, to boldly go and take the mickey out of those that went before”

All right, my paraphrase might not be the exact; or even close; to the actual opening to The Orville, but the premise remains true. The success of this Trek / not Trek shows proves that there is life in that vein of show, despite Discovery’s best efforts to thwart the genre.

The Orville is on hand to chart the findings of a magnetar which will take a couple of days. As luck would have it, Ed and Gordon are due to deliver a brief at a tactical conference during that time. Taking the wisest course of action, Ed and Gordon decide to “Galileo 7” up in attempt to satisfy both missions. Of course, anyone who knows Trek knows that bad stuff happens to shuttle crafts; it’s almost worse than having a wedding on board. Before you know it, things take a dramatic turn for Ed and Gordon, with Commander Kelly Grayson having to deal with a rather different potential border incursion.

David A. Goodman has written a story that has to serve two masters; firstly it has to mimic/mirror the Orville cast and sensibilities and also has to keep in touch with the genre that the show pokes fun at. For large parts, Goodman manages the duality well, with a level of humor that can just about be taken seriously. The plot may be an obvious derivation of a familiar theme, but isn’t that the very core of the show? With so many different versions of Trek out there, I am sure that there are enough seeds from which to plant and cultivate new ideas. That then is the strength of the writing; taking those serious moments and driving to the comedy rather than the drama.

As with every tie-in book, there is an element of live and die based on the likeness of the art. Here, David Cabeza does well to ensure that everyone looks like their TV counterpart, with maybe the exception of Adrianne Palicki, whose face seems to change frequently even without any external reason. There is also elements of what I call “dead eye” where characters faces seem to lack any real depth. This could be due to a number of reasons; I assume that at some point photo reference is used, so “dead eye” could be linked to an over use of the same frame or having to create something new. These are minor quibbles to be honest; the rest of the crew shape up well and the aesthetic of the show carries over well. Colors are provided by Michael Atiyeh who goes for a bold look that reminds me of ST:TNG. Alas, no letterer was credited on the advance copy, nor on the official Dark Horse website, so I cannot name the letterer who does well to accommodate the amount of verbiage in the book whilst also ensuing the correct tone is used for the humorous parts.

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the show has certainly crafted a well observed show. Does this translate into a well observed comic book? Truth be told, I think it does, especially with the nuanced writing of Goodman and the likeness of the characters crafted by Cabeza; Dark Horse could easily take the second star on the right and let the crew of The Orville fly ’till morning.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; David A. Goodman
Art by; David Cabeza
Colors by; Michael Atiyeh
Published by; Dark Horse Comics

The Orville: New Beginnings #1 is due out in LCBS on July 17th.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network