Review of OUT THERE!

REVIEW

TITLE: Out There (A Journey Of Discovery and Freedom)

WRITERS: Emily & Laurence Alison

ARTIST: David Hitchcock

FORMAT: 40 pages A4 Full colour

PUBLISHER: Psy Comics

AVAILABLE FROM:

REVIEW:

This is a colourful, uplifting, all-ages sci-fi adventure. The near-future story follows human teenage, Lucy Diamond, and her robot companion as they escape from their bleak isolation on a future post-pandemic Earth to search the galaxy for a place to belong.

Before I start, I should make full disclosure that I know most of the creators involved in this project very well. I officiated at writers Laurence and Emily's wedding and I have worked with artist David many times myself. But I'll attempt some objectivity!

Illustrated in luxurious painted colour by the ever professional David Hitchcock, this book is obviously a treat for the eyes. David's work is usually monochrome and much more likely to be horror-orientated, so this is a huge departure for the gothic Victorian-style artist. But David is so professional that he manages to turn his hand to this Alice-In-Sci-Fi-Wonderland-style with aplomb. To anyone who knows his work, this will be instantly recognisable, but it's quite a change for him. He dials back the darkness here and opens up his art for the colour. There is something of Windsor McKay's Little Nemo In Slumberland in his imaginative designs and creatures. He continues to bring all his eye for continuous spell-binding detail in the background of every scene. His colour choices are bright and sun-drenched. You can't help but wonder if he missed his calling illustrating children's books (until you remember how good he is at atmospheric horror!) And as usual David is a master storyteller, choosing just the right way to frame the shots that will best sell each moment to the reader without confusion.

I know from personal experience that sometimes when there's art this stunning on a project reviewers can forget to mention the writing, so let's turn our thoughts to that. I'm always curious when there are two writers credits as to how working with a co-writer can possibly function, since I usually work in blessed isolation. Perhaps I just have too much ego to imagine working with someone else? I must ask them how they worked this the next time I see them.

Emily and Laurence were obviously inspired to create this story by the recent Corona virus pandemic that we've all been through and the way that it impacted a younger generation who were robbed of vital formative experiences by 'lock-down'. Transposing the story thirty-to-forty years into the future they are able to free the metaphor from talking about a single moment in time to be able to hint at more general trends in society.

Psy Comics' whole aim is to produce stories that maybe fun and exciting romps on the surface but reveal something about the psychology of the human condition when you dig a little deeper. So you won't be surprised to learn that the writers are psychologists in their day jobs. But this story isn't hitting you over the head with it's messages and never forgets that it's target audience will be more interested in the questing, adventuring nature of the story than any deeper meanings. There are jeopardy and villains and even some darkness in 'Out There' but never to the extent that it would upset younger readers.

I would have loved for this to have had even more pages to have allowed the story to really breathe and soar... But I realise there were probably budgetary concerns that dictated the length of this book. So my only slight disappointment is that there isn't more of this, so I could have really got my teeth into the characters and world in a more naturalistic way.

Although this is safe for younger readers, it is by no means a childish work and I hope that grown-up comic fans will also read this and appreciate it. In fact the more sophisticated the reader, the more you will get out of this I think, since it can be read on more than one level.

The letterer, Neil Roche, really had his work cut out for him for this project. There are some pictures where there's a scary amount of speech balloons, but he always manages to fit them in and I don't think I ever got lost with the order in which to read them.

A stunning comic. Imaginative and colourful. Recommended. Order it here: https://www.orbitinterviewing.com/category/comics?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1L7Op-AhLwwPE5wrq5G4lVAFtZoEdWDdWHmFZPj4IoskIEqkPjRSacpwU_aem_QF2PL0Kwfs4FpPVUPz4lsg

John A. Short 2024