Review: Buttercup - Remembrance
"I believe it is the quiet darkness that has always led me to the hunt..."
A sleek, graceful starship approaches the glittering, city-sized Archulus Station amid scattered, rolling asteroids in the vast, dark void. Given clearance to land, it sets down in the shuttle bay and a lone figure emerges: tall, lithe, female, feline... Dressed in cybernetic armour, the only part of her body visible is her long, bushy tail.
The station is home to many aliens, the predominant species being large, shifty-looking crustaceans. There is not a single human in sight. Our heroine makes her way through dark corridors, past the shady and destitute figures lurking in the shadows.Taking the elevator she ascends to the main residential section of the station which consists of a multitude of interconnected skyscrapers. Nonhuman denizens gaze down from balconies. The 'ground' level is a bustling hive of activity: markets, shops and sleazy bars.
Our feline wanderer comes to one such insalubrious multispecies joint. Jaded patrons nurse their cheap beverages as exotic life-forms gyrate around poles for the amusement of the intoxicated crowd. Translucent tentacles clasp flasks of obscure mood-altering fluids... Who is this bold newcomer?
She has an appointment with a hulking walrus-tusked, lobster-like gangster boss. Negotiations regarding a mysterious artefact quickly break down, and the action kicks in rapidly...
Buttercup: Remembrance from Kirin Comics, consisting of writer McKay Wadsworth and artists Kristin Tingey and Chelsea Watts is a stylish, punchy space opera offering. The art is predominantly monochrome, but beautifully detailed and atmospheric. Splashes of colour are used once the fighting starts, to expertly render the many-hued energy beams spilling many-hued body fluids...
There are tantalising mysteries in this first issue. What is the origin of the enigmatic puzzle box ... which morphs into a video game handset? Why is it so valuable?
And..... where are all the humans?
Our heroine turns out to be an agile, adept warrior when her sword comes into play. They say she has nine lives... Is she about to lose her last one?
Zak Webber
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