Anunnaki Issue #1 Review: Cosmic Sci-Fi, Ancient Gods, Military Secrets & Indie Comic Swagger

WEPA! Now this right here is the kind of indie sci-fi swing I love seeing pop up from the cosmic corners of the comic book universe. Anunnaki Issue #1 by Giovanni Sticco, with sound engineering credited to Issac Bonsell, comes flying in with that “what if the ancient gods came back, but humanity greeted them with helicopters, guns, paranoia, and government foolishness?” type of energy. And listen, that is a juicy comic book setup. You give me aliens, secret facilities, ancient prophecy, military tension, desert isolation, spiritual awakening, and a mysterious female space traveler trying to survive on Earth? Yeah, baby, we got ingredients in the pot. Somebody pass the sazón because this one is cooking.

The premise is simple but effective: the world is entering a period of distress, uncertainty, and awakening, and the long-foretold return of the Anunnaki is no longer some dusty myth tucked away in a late-night conspiracy forum. It is happening. A female Anunnaki space traveler crashes on Earth, injured and vulnerable, taking refuge in the isolated desert before being spotted, captured, and dragged into a secret underground facility for observation. Right away, the book taps into that classic sci-fi pressure point: when humanity encounters something greater than itself, does it respond with wonder, fear, violence, greed, or all of the above? Spoiler alert, humanity usually acts like somebody touched its last pastelillo. Panic first, questions later.

What makes Anunnaki interesting is that it leans into both spectacle and mystery. This is not just “alien crashes, soldiers show up, pew-pew, the end.” Nah. The concept carries a mythological weight. The Anunnaki name brings with it ancient astronaut flavor, spiritual speculation, old-world mystery, and that delicious “we may not know the whole truth about our origins” kind of storytelling sauce. Sticco uses that mythology as a launchpad for something bigger than a standard alien escape story. There is a sense that this visitor is not merely an invader or a monster. She is a question mark with a heartbeat. A being out of place. Powerful, maybe. Vulnerable, definitely. Dangerous? Possibly. Misunderstood? Almost certainly. That’s the sweet spot.

The strongest part of the book is the atmosphere of escalation. You can feel the story wanting to open up into something larger: cosmic conflict, government cover-ups, ancient prophecies, wormhole warfare, and a broader sci-fi mythology. The GlobalComix release even teases “cosmic dog fights and wormhole warfare,” which tells you the ambition here is not small. This thing is looking at the stars and saying, “Yeah, I’m going up there.” That ambition matters. Indie comics are at their best when creators are not scared to swing big, and Sticco is clearly aiming for a cinematic universe of ideas rather than a tiny one-room concept.

There is also a fun pulp quality running through the bones of the project. Anunnaki feels like it comes from the tradition of old-school sci-fi serials, military paranoia thrillers, UFO mythology, and midnight movie imagination. It has that “found on a dusty VHS shelf but somehow ahead of its time” vibe. And I mean that as a compliment. Some comics are polished until they feel manufactured. This one has an earnest, handmade, creator-driven pulse. You can feel the creator trying to build a world, not just fill pages. There is a difference. A big one.

The central character the female Anunnaki traveler is the hook. She immediately gives the story emotional potential because she is not introduced from a position of dominance, but survival. She crashes. She is wounded. She hides. She is discovered. That choice matters because it flips the usual alien-arrival trope. Instead of Earth being attacked by an unstoppable force, we see humanity discovering someone vulnerable and responding with institutional aggression. That creates sympathy, tension, and a moral test. Will humanity study her? Help her? Exploit her? Fear her? Weaponize her? Knowing how humans behave in comics, movies, history, and rush-hour traffic, we already know things are about to get messy.

Giovanni Sticco’s background as a film producer, director, and writer shows in the way the concept is framed. The story feels cinematic in structure: the crash, the desert, the military response, the secret facility, the looming question of escape. It reads like the first act of a sci-fi film that wants to blend action with mystery and myth. That makes sense considering Hollywood Tower Productions’ profile notes Sticco’s film work across horror, science fiction, and drama. There is a screen-minded rhythm to the way the premise lands, and that gives the issue a trailer-like punch. You can almost hear the deep movie voice: “In a world of uncertainty… they returned.” Boom. Somebody call the popcorn guy.

The sound engineer credit for Issac Bonsell is also intriguing because it suggests this project is thinking beyond the flat page. Even if a reader is approaching it as a digital comic, that credit hints at a multimedia or cinematic sensibility surrounding the project. That is a smart lane for modern indie comics. Today’s creators are not just making books; they are building experiences, proof-of-concepts, transmedia seeds, and worlds that can grow into animation, audio, film, games, and more. Anunnaki Issue has that kind of DNA. It does not feel like a story that wants to sit still. It wants to move.

Now, let’s keep it real, Brooklyn style. As a first issue, the book’s greatest strength is also where it needs its next-level polish: clarity and expansion. The concept is strong, the mythology is appealing, and the setup has momentum, but future chapters will need to dig deeper into character motivation, world rules, and emotional stakes so readers are not just interested in what the Anunnaki are, but invested in who this particular Anunnaki is. That is the magic key. Cosmic lore gets people in the door, but character keeps them paying rent. Give us her fear, her purpose, her memory, her mission, her pain, her rage, her compassion. Let us feel why she matters beyond the mystery of her species. Do that, and this thing can level up fast.

The military angle also has room to become more than the usual “government captures alien” setup. The best version of this story would complicate that side too. Give us soldiers who are scared, scientists who are conflicted, commanders who are hiding agendas, and maybe one person inside the facility who realizes this visitor is not the threat humanity’s response is. That would give the story some extra electricity. Right now, the foundation is there. The next move is adding layers. Like lasagna, but with ray guns.

Thematically, Anunnaki plays with timely ideas: spiritual awakening, distrust of authority, fear of the unknown, ancient history, alien contact, militarized secrecy, and the question of whether humanity is ready to meet something older and more advanced than itself. That is fertile ground. And in 2026, with real-world people constantly talking about UAPs, disclosure, artificial intelligence, surveillance, collapse, awakening, and who knows what else before breakfast, this comic lands in a lane that feels very now. It is pulp sci-fi, yes, but it is tapping into modern anxiety too. That gives it juice.

What I respect most is that this feels like a creator putting a personal flag in the dirt and saying, “Here is my universe.” That matters in indie comics. Not every book needs to come out of the gate with corporate gloss and a committee-approved sheen. Sometimes you want the raw transmission. The strange frequency. The creator with a wild idea and enough guts to push it into the world. That is where cool things start. That is where cult favorites are born. That is where the weird, wonderful, unforgettable stuff comes from.

Anunnaki is a bold cosmic appetizer with a big-screen attitude, a mythological engine, and enough sci-fi weirdness to make fans of aliens, secret bases, military tension, and ancient astronaut lore lean forward and say, “Okay, you got my attention.” It is not trying to be small. It is not trying to play safe. It is aiming for mystery, action, and universe-building, and while future issues should sharpen the emotional depth and narrative clarity, the foundation here is exciting. This is the kind of indie concept that can grow, mutate, and surprise readers if the creative team keeps building with confidence.

Comic Crusaders says check this one out, especially if you like your sci-fi with desert heat, cosmic danger, ancient secrets, government nonsense, and a wounded alien traveler who may be humanity’s visitor, victim, or warning sign. Anunnaki Issue has that late-night sci-fi energy with indie heart, and I’m here for the ride. WEPA to Giovanni Sticco, Issac Bonsell, and Hollywood Tower Productions for bringing some cosmic chaos to the digital shelf. Keep building the mythology, keep sharpening the characters, and keep swinging for the stars because this universe has room to expand.

CRUSADERS SCORE:
4/5

Creator / Writer: Giovanni Sticco
Sound Engineer: Issac Bonsell
Publisher: Hollywood Tower Productions
Platform: GlobalComix
Copyright note listed: Copyright 2021 WGA West #1228912