I have trouble thinking of a recent comic that mashes together quite so many genres as Rook Exodus, and still comes out as a total winner. It’s a sci-fi western, dystopian fantasy, action adventure, and if that sounds like your jam, then it’s well worth checking out.
Co-created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jason Fabok, the action unfolds on a failed frontier planet known as Exodus. A prologue explains that the alien planet was terraformed and colonised around the year 2159. As part of this process, a number of sprawling futuristic cities were constructed, and the planet’s surrounding environments were populated with earth-native animal species such as bears, wolves, crows and many more.
After only a few short decades though, the terraforming engine broke down, triggering a mass evacuation of the planet’s civilian population. The story picks up two years later, in 2173, when the only human inhabitants of Exodus are the Wardens, employees of the terraforming corporation who have the responsibility of controlling and corralling each of the animal species via dedicated cerebral links in their allocated helmets. But the deserted cities now lie in ruin, and the failing terraformer is causing the animals to evolve in alarming ways. It’s a meaty set-up, with a lot for the reader to initially get their heads around, but once the plot gets going it runs at a clip, and the world building just continues to get more spectacular.
The character designs by Fabok are probably the main attraction. The (anti-)hero, Rook, is a sci-fi gunslinger that looks like Mad Max crossed with the Mandalorian. Supporting characters such as Dire Wolf and Carapace have the appearance of 80’s action figures come to life. Meanwhile, villains such as Warhog and Ursaw look like vintage WWE wrestlers that got their wardrobe from Warhammer 40K. The important point being that everything, from the characters and their outlandish vehicles to the ruined environments they inhabit look practical and lived in; whilst gently tugging on the nostalgia of childhood sci-fi classic properties.
Johns’ storyline is refreshingly straightforward, by the end of the first issue you’ll know exactly who the goodies and baddies are, and by the time you get to the action-packed climax in issue 6, you’ll be rooting for Rook to come out on top. Indications are that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and with a whole planet left to explore, and many more species still to introduce, there’s scope for Rook Exodus to be your next favourite escapist sci-fi epic.