Peace has come at last between Terran, Protoss, and Zerg. Can such a thing last?
Creative Staff:
Writer: Jody Houser
Art: Gabriel Guzman
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Steve Dutro
What They Say:
Writer Jody Houser (Mother Panic, Faith) and artist Gabriel Guzman (Mass Effect: Discovery, Star Wars) join forces for StarCraft, a new series further exploring the expansive universe of Blizzard’s hit game. A group of Terran space scavengers hope to pull off the job of their lifetimes, ignoring a recent United Earth Directorate treaty to pillage a derelict Protoss ship.
Content: (warning, spoilers)
For the first time in a long time, we have a new StarCraft series! After years of endless fighting, a very fragile ceasefire has been made between the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg forces. Our main characters are Caleb, Kyra, and their captain and crewmates aboard a Kel-Morian scavenger ship, the Magpie. The captain has decided to get rich in a very dangerous scheme. They’ve come across a deserted, broken Protoss ship, and the captain wants to take the tech and sell it on the black market, leaving nothing behind! One big problem is that any screw up with the plan and these scavengers break the peace between the races. Peace has never been much of a theme in this universe, so exploring it is a fresh new idea.
In short order, the crew is on board and exploring the Protoss ship in teams, Kyra and Caleb with the captain. before long they begin finding scavengable materials and one crew member a bit more than they bargained for. We end on a teaser promising to show us what horrors await the crew on the ship.
In Summary:
The only real theme addressed in the book is the peace between races and how the crew could destroy it if they’re caught. The only character we learn much about is Caleb, and that the captain wants to be sure he has no sympathies for the aliens. There really isn’t much to this issue, even for a first part. We get introduced to our scavenger crew, learn of the shaky peace, and the crew begins scavenging a ship. There are stakes here certainly, but much is left for readers to guess at honestly. How did the ship get there, did the Zerg have anything to do with it, and why doesn’t the crew trust Caleb fully? It feels like just a little too much was left out, though the writing and art are great. Both definitely feel like we’re in the game’s universe, which is a big plus for these kinds of books. We only know the basic gist of the characters right now, so issue 2 and 3 have really got to make us like the characters we have. It’s a decent first issue with some problems setting it back from being the best it could be. It’s a book that nails tone and atmosphere but needs character development badly. If you’re a fan of StarCraft, you’ll enjoy what’s given here, but if not you may want to wait to see what issue 2 brings first.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 15+ Only
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 25, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
