Empress

Mark Millar is continuing to knock out high-concept comics at an impressive rate; with sci-fi adventure, Empress, being one of the latest. The hook is that a Galactic despot’s estranged wife, Queen Emporia, goes on the run with her bodyguard and children, whilst being pursued across the solar system by her mad husband.

It’s a neat concept, but Millar’s plot never really rises above the retro adventure serials that so clearly inspired it. A main problem is that none of the characters are particularly interesting. There was potential scope for Emporia to have a really engaging character arc over the course of her journey; possibly growing from cold-blooded autocrat to self-assured heroine on the way; but Millar didn’t seem interested in making her much more than a space-faring soccer-mom. The villain, King Morax, is a textbook evil dictator, and Captain Dane Havelok is an equally cookie-cutter hero (even with his awesomely manicured beard). The plot misses an opportunity for drama by pretty much avoiding any examination of spousal abuse, and the choice to set the story on Earth around the end of the Cretaceous period is bizarrely underused. It all just seems to lack some of the black-humour and cynicism that made Millar’s earlier works crackle.

The comic is still worthy of note, thanks to some spectacular artwork from Stuart Immonen. I absolutely adore Immonen’s style, and could pick apart these pages for hours. Crisp lines, solid blacks, epic landscapes, dynamic camera angles and some of the most kinetic action in the business (see above for example). The designs throughout of characters, environments and vehicles are all futuristic but entirely plausible. I’ve got to give credit to Millar for plotting this story to his artist’s strengths, and not skimping on the action or set-pieces.

My suspicion is that further entries to this series will focus on the downfall of the advanced civilisation so splendidly laid-out here. It’s no coincidence that Millar has chosen to locate this story and the end of the age-of-dinosaurs; so it might be safe to expect even more explosive events in the sequel…