This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Letter 44.

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This week I wanted to highlight one of last week’s books that hasn’t appeared in this column before. Published by Oni Press, Letter 44, tells the story of humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial beings, and the president who chose to keep their existence a secret (all the while perpetuating wars to give his soldiers combat experience and developing incredible technology to combat the potential threat). Equal parts political intrigue and science fiction story, I’m still not sure whether the tension is higher in space than it is on Earth, but the story is freaking amazing.

The brilliance of this book is that there are essentially two stories being told at once that occasionally intersect when the president contacts the team deep in space. While the existence of the mission in space and the military and science personnel on board the Clarke are frequently brought up in the president’s office, the president is seldom mentioned in space… because ultimately they don’t care about who is running the country when they are so far from Earth.

It’s a sobering thought, and one the highlights the isolation the team must feel so far in space. But there’s also a clear bond between the characters and their microcosmic society functions in a fairly unique way; there are rules aboard the space craft, ones that would probably not work on Earth. The way in which Charles Soule explores a small group of humanity in the loneliness of space is far different than any Star Trek story you’ve read or watched.

Letter 44 hadme hooked right from the opening as the newly elected, but not inaugurated, President Blades is reading the letter in question. The set up is slow and politically tense, and I’d have been happy if the comic followed just one of the two plot lines in the story.

The book is featured here because I’ve heard very few people talking about what is, for my money, one of the better stories I’ve read in comics.

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Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.