The Ignis Quadrant Chapters 0 and 1

Evan Carothers – Writer and Designer, Jezreel Rojales – Artist, Mariam Yasser – Colourist, Justin “Lettersquids” – Letters

Comics loves to embrace the cultural zeitgeist. Just look at Marvel in the 70’s and 80’s. There are few successful genres that they did not turn their hand to. Martial arts movies doing well? Get Iron Fist and Shang-Chi out there. Blaxploitation? Luke Cage and Blade reporting for duty. Horror, Sci-Fi? They had it all covered. And if there was a toy line as well, well even better.

I have said before that today’s comics maybe need to be a bit more tuned in to what is popular among gamers if they want to try to catch the interest of kids glued to their consoles. How about some strips dealing with war, the mafia or westerns?

The creators of The Ignis Quadrant seem to be aware of this. The origins of the comic actually lie within the world of tabletop gaming with the characters being designed for 3D printing for gamers. There are plans not just for comics, but also for board games and role-playing games. 

This world-building element can be seen clearly in the book. Alien races, cities and government systems all slot into place. Those hot games and TV shows are here as well. The Mandalorian is an obvious reference point as are the likes of Red Dead Redemption. This comic is a sci-fi Western and makes no bones about it.

So whilst originality is sacrificed for genre conventions the book certainly gives you what you are looking for if you need your next fix of hard bitten, whisky swilling bounty hunters having laser gun shoot outs with tentacled alien desperadoes. I would say that if the intended market is younger TV viewers and gamers then maybe the language should be toned down (yeah as a parent of a teenager I know they can be pretty foul mouthed but it might make parents think twice about sharing the book.)

Artist Jezreel Rojales effectively brings to life this world of saloons and space ships (hmm sounds like a good title for an RPG!) However it is in the characters that the artist really brings the world to life. The facial expressions bring the cast to life, from rascally urchins to brutal alien mobsters. Maybe it is the extra-terrestrial setting, but I was put in mind of the work of Massimo Belardinelli on the likes of 2000 A.D’s ABC Trucking. 

Mariam Yasser’s colours have a tricky task of bringing to life a variety of alien landscapes and settings both indoors and outdoors, but this is achieved effortlessly. From alien sunrises to neon drenched alleys, the colours help to set the scene. The letters from Justin “Lettersquids” give unique voice to cowboys, robots and aliens alike.

Catching the eye of the TV viewer and gamer is not easy, but The Ignis Quadrant has made a good pitch for their attention. I hope that future issues maybe bring some more original elements in but this book will provide some good old fashioned action entertainment for comics readers of all ages.

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The Ignis Quadrant – Space Western Comic – Chapter 0 & 1 – funding now on Kickstarter. You can get a free preview in the form of issue zero from this page as well.