Aliens Vs. Parker #1

I was pretty excited for Aliens vs. Parker, but I tried not to get my hopes up too much. The last time a comedian I really liked made the switch from stand-up comic to comic books, I was disappointed. I'm a huge of Paul Scheer though, so of course I had to check out this book. Luckily, it satisfied.

Even though the setting is outer space and in the far future, the protagonist, Parker, is still down to earth and entirely relatable. I know how it feels to work a dead-end job, spend your time with a bunch of friends playing video games and get shy around women. I think a lot of readers can relate to Parker in some way, which is an important characteristic for a main character to have.

The book was full of snappy dialogue and each character really had their own voice. Right now, most of these characters are very one-dimensional, but we haven't had time to let them develop yet. Plus, it's only a 4-issue series, and I'm not going to mind sacrificing character development of minor characters for a solid plot. They're perfectly fine as caricatures more than characters for now.

I'm looking forward to the next issue, because I'd love for something to actually happen. The classic first-issue problem is that there is too much setup. It isn't really a problem usually, but with such a short run I'd like the pacing to be a bit quicker. As long as it does pick up, it shouldn't be a problem though.

The design of the characters seems a little uninspired to me. They don't particularly jump out at me and I don't really understand why these space deliverymen wear these vaguely militaristic outfits. Maybe that's just the style in the future, who's to say?

Even though the design isn't the best, the actual art is fantastic. The faces are very expressive and they match up perfectly with the dialogue. It isn't often that I know exactly the tone someone delivered a line because of how the artist drew that panel. With Manuel Bracchi's art, there was no guesswork on if that character was serious, joking, angry or even scared.

That's one of the best things an artist can do. If you can use your artistic ability to show me what a character is thinking or feeling instead of me having to be told, you belong in this business. So I can safely say Bracchi belongs in this business, unless this issue is just a fluke.

Oddly enough, Phil Noto's art on the cover was actually very disappointing. Usually, I love Noto, but one of the characters on the front appears to be only a torso. Now, that character isn't just a torso, so there isn't a reason for him to be one on the cover.

This kind of thing is exactly what would make me not buy this comic if I didn't know that it was by Paul Scheer. Hopefully people will literally not judge this book by its cover and give it the fair shot that it deserves.