By d. emerson eddy — I've written about this series a few times for different sites, because it's one of my very favourite Garth Ennis stories and probably one of the lesser known. He had a run of titles working with Avatar Press that I feel allowed him to stretch his creativity in different directions. They included things in his usual wheelhouse like over-the-top black humour, war stories, westerns, and supernatural noodling, but he also took a few steps further afield with some depraved “zombies”, undead retribution, an apocalyptic funny animal book, and this title, a straight forward science fiction horror story. I'm talking about Caliban from Ennis, Facundo Percio, Sebastian Cabrol, Hernan Cabrera, and Kurt Hathaway.

The story very much takes its cues from Alien, reveling in the same kind of claustrophobic horror while trying to deal with an unknown alien presence that seems intent solely on killing. We get a mining vessel that has an unexpected accident in warp space that fuses them with an alien craft. It's a shock because humans hadn't come across any advanced alien life yet, as well as losing all of their sleeper tubes filled with miners and more than half the crew.

It's fascinating how Ennis relays much of this through our main point-of-view character, Nomi's, perspective, journaling, but sadly this form of narrative is left in the first issue. Things get worse as one of the crew gets infected and the true nature of the vessel is revealed. There's also a wonderful through line for romance between two of the characters. It's awkward, and a bit fumbling, but it adds a heartfelt element that becomes crucial towards the end of the tale.

The artwork from Facundo Percio, Sebastian Cabrol, and Hernan Cabrera is wonderful. Percio and Cabrera were also the art team for Fashion Beast (with Alan Moore, Malcolm McLaren, Antony Johnston, and Jaymes Reed), with the addition of Cabrol here on inks, Percio's lines are somewhat more refined, giving a cleaner, slick look to the line art. There are some interesting designs for the aliens and their vessel that get more horrifying as the story develops and interact with humans.

The dark and creepy atmosphere is enhanced through Cabrera's colors, especially as much of it is cast in earth tones. I also quite like Kurt Hathaway's approach to the word balloons for speech through the communications systems. There's a nice jagged look to them that makes it feel like technology.

The plot and themes in Caliban will be very familiar to fans of sci-fi/horror, but they're perfectly executed by Ennis, Percio, Cabrol, Cabrera, and Hathaway. It's gripping, often times making you wonder if anyone's going to make it out alive.

Classic Comic of the Week: Caliban

Caliban
Writer: Garth Ennis
Pencils: Facundo Percio
Inker: Sebastian Cabrol
Colorist: Hernan Cabrera
Letterer: Kurt Hathaway
Publisher: Avatar Press
Master storyteller GARTH ENNIS and Fashion Beast artist FACUNDO PERCIO team up to deliver a haunting new epic of science fiction horror. The crew of the Caliban travels hyperspace on nothing more than a routine trip for the giant vessel. Just human beings that have been inside a bit too long, confident of no other life in the Galaxy, and all the vastness of space to remind them how far they are from home. But when an impossible accident suddenly causes the Caliban to slam into an abandoned alien ship, a nightmare in space begins to unfold. Ennis delivers his unique brand of flawed characters, spot-on dialog, and trademark flare for the unexpected in a new series in the vein of Alien.
Publication Date: February 24, 2015
Buy It Here: Physical / Digital

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.