*WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Following the Fire and Stone series, Dark Horse Comics presents its sequel: Life and Death – in which all titles will be helmed by legendary sci-fi writer Dan Abnett.
The story begins with a message being typed up by Captain Paget of the USCM rapid response vessel, HASDRUBAL, for the USCM Operations, Ganymede Station. She delivers the details indicating the recent possession of a massive xenotech vessel that will be prepared for Ganymede Station to inspect. Captain Paget provides a serious warning about the dangerous nature of this mission and includes that there were many USCM casualties caused by the xenoforms of unknown origin. Right off the bat, the issue uses an unorthodox method of narrative to explain the current situation in order to quickly fill in the reader.
Tensions build on the HASDRUDAL as Mr. Lorimer, a Weyland-Yutani representative, boards the vessel to express his concern to Captain Paget about the newly acquired xenotech technology and how they have not established a line of communication with the USCM crew on it yet. Though Captain Paget agrees with the unnerving problem at hand, she is quick to dismiss his concern regarding the safety of her crew and points out the fact that Mr. Lorimer is only concerned about the invaluable “xenotech trophy”. From here, we are able to understand the different viewpoints between the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the USMC.
On the xenotech vessel, we are introduced to Sergeant Roth, the party leader, and their technician, Singer, who is preparing the vessel’s navigation to Ganymede Station. With no means of communication back to HASDRUBAL due to the foreignness of the technology, the marines become doubtful and uncomfortable as they are essentially stranded on a highly advanced alien ship.
The story reaches its climax as Indelicato, a USMC marine, gets front row seats to the godlike antagonist who emerges from his pod and is, presumably, the ship’s pilot and maker. Without a word, the titanic humanoid obliterates Indelicato’s head with a single blow which forces Sergeant Roth and his marines to react with heavy fire. Realizing that their bullets are of no effect, they make a rushed retreat to warn the others onboard. In the next pages, we see the humanoid calmly navigate through his ship, glance at the dead marine, and activate the ship’s main controls. Abnett introduces a violent and emotionless yet tranquil and quiet god that the USMC has stumbled upon. Despite not knowing his origin, his intentions indicate that he is not interested in hunting down the rest of the crew. Instead, he makes his way back to where he emerged and begins changing the course of his ship. In addition, the marines add a layer of complexity to this character as they describe him as perfect, titanic, a god and “the scariest damn shit I’ve ever seen”.
The issue ends as the xenotech vessel becomes mobile at a high speed and changes its course toward the frontier instead of Ganymede Station. This alerts Captain Paget and immediately orders the HASDRUBAL to match its course with everything it has in order to follow it.
The cliffhanger leaves readers shrouded in mystery as we wonder where in the galaxy this xenotech vessel is heading, what the godlike humanoid’s agenda is and how Sergeant Roth and his party are going to survive it – all of which are perfect elements for readers to pick up the next issue.
In essence, Abnett’s story is about mankind’s survivability against the unknown threats that the universe has to offer. He is able to put together a convincing plot of Man vs. Alien — or in this case, Man vs. God. Though the main human protagonists are not too memorable and have not been entirely developed yet, the highlight of the story is the newly encountered god that has us wanting more. Artist Andrea Mutti does an exceptional job of creating a grounded depiction of the exploration of outer space. Mutti’s attention to detail of both the HASDRUBAL and the xenotech vessel’s interior design help readers distinguish the vast difference in technology and how foreign it is compared mankind’s. Lastly, it is important to point out the many expressions displayed on each character’s face. Ranging from doubtfulness to complete panic, it shows the genuine reactions of the marines when they first encounter the godlike humanoid and allows the readers to feel their emotions.
Overall, Prometheus Life & Death #1 is a story that has a strong sense of direction and knows how to build a climatic plot point. There are many characters and dialogue that readers may need to reread in order to match a name with their face and to understand who is who. Though, with its quick and snappy dialogue, this issue is able to juggle the different characters and provide a simple yet solid read for the avid science fiction reader. Lastly, the issue does a great job in balancing narrative, mystery and action in which the biggest takeaway is clearly the main antagonist of the Prometheus title and what Abnett plans on doing with him.
