Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: boom studios, Cluster, Comics, Damian Couceiro, Ed Brisson, entertainment

Advance Review: Compelling Characters And Intense Action In Cluster #1 From Boom! Studios

Published Tue, 03 Feb 2015 16:30:52 -0600

Calling all fans of sci-fi comics! The compelling characters, and intense action of Cluster #1 is for you! From BOOM! Studios, written by Ed Brisson with art by Damian Couceiro, Cluster centers on a prison called Tranent which houses criminals that signed up for Global Outreach Enterprises Military Inmate Deployment, (M.I.D.). The story begins with main character Sam Simmons a.k.a. Samara, being taken to the prison after driving under the influence and being in a car accident. We learn right off the bat that the inmates will be there for a duration of fifteen years. While the rules of the prison seem relatively normal, what the inmates are being trained to do is quite the opposite. They are instructed to protect the terraforming towers from the alien army, the Paguranis. However, their mission isn't too cut and dry.

I was pretty pleased with the first issue of this new series. Couceiro's art is nicely detailed, and his design of the Paguranis is a healthy combination of cool and terrifying. Brisson's script is highly entertaining. I didn't encounter a dull moment once while reading. Main character Samara's lunch interaction with inmate, Grace was a highlight for me. I enjoyed the way the bantered back and forth. You can really count on tension in a story, when it takes place in a prison because it only takes one tiny thing to start a crazed reaction from a large group of people. We get to witness something like that mid-comic.

One of the most impressive moments is when the "punch" is discussed. I don't want to spoil what this is for you, but you should know that I think it's brilliant. It looks like Brisson and Couceiro have a well-developed, imaginative, sci-fi thriller in store for readers. The ending leaves you on the edge of your seat and sets up for the next issue to be one heck of a page-turner!

Christine Marie is a Staff Writer at Bleeding Cool, and bibliomaniac with a love for all things creative. She hopes to one day be a Superhero/Disney Princess/Novelist. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @AWritersWay or on her blog writerchristinemarie.wordpress.com.