Review: Dark Matter
The Narata Corporation in the Draco galaxy calls the team in for a retrieval mission. The planet Shipway Minor is stick in the middle of a permanent war zone. Buried under the ruins of the once-great Library of Ages in the city of Fabery is a data crystal containing a wealth of knowledge that the galaxy needs. The crystal is secured in a psi-locked vault which only this particular team can break into...
Dark Matter by writer Alan Holloway and artist Ian Beadle is the eleventh editon of Sentinel, an independent sci-fi/horror/fantasy series created by a variety of guest creators. In this issue the emphasis is very much on lots of action: guns blazing, hulking mutant alien goons, high-tech war mechas and deadly psionic mind blades... There is never a dull moment when this bunch is on the job.
Beadle's monochrome art is sharp and slick, nicely detailed with some delightfully sinister characters. Mature readers may recognise a Strontium Dog vibe here; rough guns for hire with dazzling high-tech gadgets, questionable morals and a penchant for humungous explosions. With 65 pages of content, that is a generous serving of sci-fi adventure.
This outer space A-Team has its work cut out for them once they land on the war-torn planet; perverse scavenger bikers, heavily armed alien soldiers, bestial orc-like grunts... nothing they can't take in their stride, however.
But is this really a mission to enrich the scientific and intellectual culture of the galaxy? Or do their employers have less lofty motives in mind? In a universe as big and dark as this one it is not easy to know who can be trusted...
Zak Webber
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