Graphic Novel Review: ‘Void’

Written by Herik Hanna | Art by Sean Philips | Published by Titan Comics | Format: Hardcover, 48pp

Goliath 01, a prison ship, drifts listlessly through space. The ship’s commander, Colonel Mercer, has massacred everyone on board – inmates and crew alike, except one. John, the lone survivor, cowers in the bowels of the carrier, desperate to escape the ship. But the howling void of space makes the best prison of all. Follow John as he plays a vicious game of cat and mouse with Mercer. Only one of them can make it off the ship alive, so which one will it be?

There must be something about murder and space which just work so well together. Maybe it’s the fact that no one can hear you scream, or maybe I have seen the Alien films one too many times. Either way, it seems to be a formula which works really well when done properly, and in Void that is the case. In Void‘s dark and mature story of science-fiction-thriller-ness, we follow John through the Goliath 01. You can’t help but feel sorry for the guy as he is plagued by horrors of the mental variety as well as the physical, having to step over the bodies of his previous shipmates. I felt the pacing of this story was done particularly well, leaving you wondering what will happen right up until the end; the big reveal itself, a nice twist to finish an exciting and sometimes quite strange tale.

What really struck me about this tale was how the art, by Sean Phillips really helped complement the story. The dark corners of the ship’s interior really help generate the claustrophobic feel that is needed to really pull you in to the tale. This in comparison to the vast emptiness of the space around the ship as well, really helps put in perspective John’s predicament and definitely helps to emphasise his isolation.. Everything from the ship’s circuitry to the brutally murdered corpses of John’s previous companions are depicted very well and you will find this comic hard to put down until the tale has drawn to a close.

So, all in all, I don’t think this comic is one to be a-Void-ed!…. I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself. But definitely check Void out if you are craving some murderously good sci-fi.

Void is available now from Titan Comics.