Review: The Perhapanauts: Second Chances #1
Bigfoot! El Chupacabra! The Mothman! Ghosts! The world may be growing smaller every day, but there are dark and terrible things still out there in the woods, shadowy corners full of mystery and dread. Who else are you going to send out to investigate? The Perhapanauts! Our intrepid Heroes travel back in time to investigate one of the most incredible events in paranormal history – Only to find that The Flatwoods Monster is much more than anyone imagined! The adventure begins in The Perhapanauts: Second Chances #1!
I won’t lie, I wanted to read this based solely on the name – I had no idea that this wasn’t the introduction to this world when I picked up the comic, but it really didn’t matter because Perhapanauts had a ring to it I couldn’t ignore.
This comic was an absolute blast.
The Perhapanauts: Second Chances #1 is comprised of three short stories, each written by Todd Dezago with art by Craig Rosseau. Rosseau colors the first story but Fico Renzi takes over for the other two. Each of the three stories are great, and given that there’s a few jokes or lines that went mostly over my head, it’s got me on the hunt for the first volume of Perhapanauts.
The first story in the comic, The Flatwoods Monster, has a decidedly sci-fi twist with the team using their time travel abilities to find out what happened at an alien encounter because they’re curious; it’s light enough to be enjoyed without any foreknowledge of the team, but Dezago leaves just enough to have you think about the events – there’s no shock ending, but what is here is really well done.
Whereas the middle story, Seven Months Earlier, picks up right at the tale of a rescue mission that hasn’t exactly gone according to plan; full of action and fast-paced scenes, Seven Months Earlier has a lot more tension than the other two, and hits you like a slap in the face after the gentle pacing of The Flatwoods Monster.
The comic is rounded out by Fiepick, a relatively quick story that’s told almost entirely in nine by nine grids over four pages. Honestly, it was probably my favourite of the lot because of its simplicity.
Perhapanauts: Second Chances #1 isn’t going to blow you away immediately, but this is the kind of comic that reminds me of why I fell in love with comics in the first place. For me, that’s priceless.
Story: Todd Dezago Art: Craig Rousseau
Colors: Craig Rousseau and Fico Renzi (the second two stories).
Story: 8.2 Art: 8.1 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy
Scout provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Scout Comics