Issue 1 (1 of 6) Image Comics
Creators: Jeff Lemire and Andre Sorrentino
We3 and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with just a touch of Cold War thriller, sounds like an interesting proposition for a comic, and this is how the team behind Gideon Falls describe their latest offering. Primordial sees writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andre Sorrentino tackling the science fiction genre this time, in an alternative history that has abandoned the Space Race.
It is 1961 and the operations center at Cape Canaveral is being dismantled after disastrous tests with animals have shown that space flight is too dangerous for mankind. As part of Operation Pen Cap, Doctor Pembrook is charged with stripping the place of equipment that has a military application, but unwittingly discovers a mystery. Pembrook discovers telemetry suggesting that two simian test subjects may have been alive well after their reported deaths, and both the American and Russian governments may be covering up a greater cosmic mystery.
The indistinct photo sketch style of the art with large ink dots lend a sense of historical realism to this work. Perhaps not in a photo accurate sense, but rather a grimy mimeograph quality that heightens the conspiratorial aspect of the work and plays into the Cold War espionage of the narrative. It appears to be from the dim and dingy past, a 60s without the golden age of Kennedy’s Camelot, and one that has given up on the Rocket Age and space exploration.
That art style ties in well with the alternative history that it creates. Oddly enough, that sense of sleaze and oppressive darkness is the most overt world building performed in this work, as the actual historical details are dropped in a way that is far subtler than the sense of tone almost overwhelming this comic. Which is not to say that tone is a detriment, but rather a strong stylistic choice which confronts the viewer. That choice is a bold one but it is well handled, albeit straddling that edge of acceptability.
Which is why when Primordial chooses to break from these noir-inspired stylings for its depictions of the events in space, it’s revelatory. Panels fracture, the palette becomes bolder and more vivid. The art turns into something far clearer and more concisely detailed. Everything becomes crisp and hyperreal, creating a sense of a new reality filled with wonder and possibilities. It’s the beautiful work that punctuated Gideon Falls, and here it’s mostly saved for the last couple of pages. A cruel taunt, but one that holds promise for later issues.
Although some may find the artwork jarring at first, it is used with good reason and promises an interesting dichotomy between the earthbound plotline and the spaceborne one. For a first issue, Primordial achieves what it needs to in terms of setting up the initial premise of the comic and the world building that is required for that. With that groundwork being achieved, this six issue mini series should be able to shoot for the stars.
