Review: Letter 44
Letter 44 by writer Charles Soule and artist Alberto Alburquerque begins with a new president of the United States taking office following a successful election campaign. No parties are mentioned but Stephen Blades appears to be a liberal Democrat and his predecessor Carroll a war-mongering Republican. Carroll has left his successor two wars and a damaged economy to deal with (a few contemporary parallels there) and one other thing ... a personal letter.
Carroll reveals that, seven years earlier, a large mysterious structure was discovered in the Asteroid Belt. This information was kept from the public to prevent panic. A spacecraft (the Clarke) was hastily constructed and a crew of scientists and soldiers assembled to investigate. They should be arriving at their destination just about now...
This is a slow-burn drama, political as much as it is science fiction, kind of West Wing meets 2001: A Space Odyssey (hence the nod in the name of the ship). As much novel as graphic it is quite wordy, with lots of dialogue and more than a few monologues, including speeches by the president and the man he replaced. The human story is centered around not just the politicians and their entourage but also the soldiers on the ground, caught up in wars which, it transpires, were deliberately engineered by Carroll in order to swell the ranks of the army. He wanted America to have a sizeable military if and when the aliens invade.
The new POTUS soon begins to make reforms: healthcare, equality and more support for the military. This starkly underlines two contrasting views of the role of soldiers: disposable pawns to be sacrificed for a higher goal, or heroes who have been betrayed by their commander in chief? Soule has more than one political/ethical axe to grind, and he does so eloquently.
The crew of the Clarke have moral issues of their own too, of course. Are the aliens friendly? Should they shoot first, ask questions later? Would any kind of resistance be at all effective against a race of beings thousands or millions of years more advanced than our own? With so much at stake, is it right for them to prioritise their relationships with each other?
The reality, of course, is that no matter how lofty the principles, the human factor cannot be ignored. We are emotional animals and our passions will never truly be held in check by any dry sense of duty. Fittingly, then, Alburquerque's art is more expressive than naturalistic, which sits easy with the highly dramatic content and the explosive action sequences. He nevertheless delights in the details, particularly when it comes to the alien artefact and its intricate complexity.
The looming spectre of the exotic visitor - long before it actually does anything - has the effect of bringing out the best and worst qualities of the cast of characters and all their diverse motivations and machinations. The bigger picture here is an ironic one: Is the human race facing possible extinction by extraterrestrial invaders... or by its own intrinsic violent nature? Have the aliens come to wipe us out, or to save us?
And, if the latter, do we deserve to be saved?
Zak Webber
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