Review: A Deviant Mind
by Pam Harrison
A young woman pilots a spacecraft erratically through an alien terrain. Pursued by the authorities, she heads for space and goes to warp, telling the computer to pick a random destination.
Reaching safety, the ship then tells her it is about to explode.
Climbing into an escape pod, she receives a massive electric shock from exposed wires and goes into a coma.
All in all, NOT having a very good day...
Her luck then takes a dramatic and very well-deserved turn for the better as her pod drifts into orbit of a planet that is the site of a medical facility. The staff bring her aboard and treat her injuries, discovering that she is far from being the average patient: she has circuitry implanted in her brain and throughout her body. Reviving her, they discover that she is also telepathic, projecting her thoughts into their minds. Alas, she also has amnesia and cannot tell them who she is or how she came to their planet.
They assign her an android neurologist, the shapely feminine A.G.N.E.S. (who, it turns out, is also programmed to give therapeutic hugs when required). A.G.N.E.S. examines her and notes that the circuitry contains the letters T.A.R.A. which, she believes, is some official acronym and NOT an actual name. Nevertheless, with nothing else to go on, the mysterious stranger decides to adopt Tara as her name.
During her recuperation Tara becomes attracted to one of her doctors, whom she then seduces telepathically. The doctor is at first horrified, but cannot deny that the attraction is mutual, though it puts her in a very difficult position...
The arrival of a Condfederation Ambassador sheds light on matters: Tara is a fugitive criminal, guilty of terrible crimes. Once more, she is on the run...
It is a complex drama mystery and raises the moral question: If you have no memory of who you are, are you still responsible for your past actions? Or are you a brand new 'you'? Tara does not act like an villain, although she shows no remorse for mentally violating her medic. Should she be given the chance to prove herself? It's a solid space opera with plenty of elements that sci-fi fans will find familiar (including a few homages to a certain long-standing TV show that boldly goes somewhere ...!)
All of the imagery for Pam Harrison's A Deviant Mind is computer-generated, including the characters. This gives the comic a slick, glossy look to it, particularly with the design of spacecraft and equipment (the android A.G.N.E.S. is particularly well crafted). Guest modellers from the CGI community Renderosity are used here and Harrison credits them on the page where their work appears. Without any actual drawing the artistry here is in the design of the 3D models and the composition of the panels, both of which are handled well.
Harrison makes much use of dramatic lighting with ominous shadows creating a claustrophobic effect that underlines Tara's confusion and anxiety. Space is big, but if it seems like the whole galaxy is against you then it starts to feel like the walls are closing in... But the reader is left with nagging doubts: Are the accusations true? How does it explain her enhanced abilities? Will Dr Rausch give in to the temptation of a new romance with someone whose identity is a big question mark?
Space may be big, but is it big enough for our heroine (anti-heroine?) to hide in?
And where will she end up next?
You can read the first seven issues FREE on the official website HERE.
Zak Webber
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