Starship Down #1 is out March 18, 2020. — **Starship Down #1** is out March 18, 2020.

By d. emerson eddy — In recent years, Andrea Mutti has been doing some very good science fiction and horror stories including Fearscape, Infinite Dark, and Port of Earth. Mutti's style reminds me a bit of Stuart Immonen and Chris Sprouse, with figures full of open, clean lines, but there's a darkness and scratchiness within that's all his own. It gives an ominous feel to his artwork that is perfect for the horror of the unknown that tends to lurk around the corner of these stories and he's proven equally adept at designing some exquisite beasties. All of that is what led me to pick up Starship Down #1, as I kind of went into this one blind.

I'm definitely glad I picked it up. This first issue from Justin Giampaoli, Andrea Mutti, Vladimir Popov, and Sal Cipriano gives me a lot of the same feelings I got from the first issue of Plunge. It's the kind of intriguing and potentially disturbing set-up of some of the best sci-fi/horror stories. We get a decent introduction to the characters and a compelling mystery of something that just shouldn't exist. Not just the titular starship, but something else that elevates the story further.

Mutti's art is an immediate draw opening up the story. There's a sense of isolation as we're taken into a Russian dig site where something strange has been found. The uneasiness and hostile nature of the situation to our protagonist, an American anthropologist in Dr. Young, shown nicely across her expressions and the handsy nature of Russian soldiers guarding the site. Mutti is joined by his Fearscape and Port of Earth collaborator, Vladimir Popov, for colors. There's a wonderful blue-white backdrop for the story that emphasizes the remote nature of the location, also triggering some existential terror of endless snow, but it also allows for the color in the characters to stand out more.

Justin Giampaoli is a new name to me, but I'm interested to see more of his work after this first issue. There's a fair amount of expository dialogue as the situation is set up, including some archaeology jargon, but it doesn't act as a barrier. Instead it does its job of informing and drawing us further into the characters and the situation. Also keeping us off guard a bit before giving the final reveals. There's also an interesting religious aspect introduced into the story as the site is visited by a Russian Cardinal. It adds a different layer to the tale other than the obvious scientific implications.

Sal Cipriano provides his usual stellar work on letters. I really quite like the jagged “radio” word balloons for the dialogue as Dr. Young is on the helicopter to the dig site. It makes sense that the characters in the chopper would be talking to one another through their headsets, over the sound of the copter's blades, and the balloons are a great way to convey that.

Overall, Starship Down #1 is off to a great start from Giampaoli, Mutti, Popov, and Cipriano. The set-up for this science fiction tale is intriguing and it feels like some of the broader effects of a potential sea change to the idea of human history is going to be addressed here.

Starship Down #1
Writer: Justin Giampaoli
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $3.99
Solicit: A cultural anthropologist consults with US Naval Intelligence to investigate the discovery of an extraterrestrial ship buried under the ice for thousands of years in Siberia. The meddling Russians, Vatican officials, the international media spotlight, and her own insecurities all threaten her efforts to keep the fabric of society from crumbling. A brand-new thriller with blistering art from Andrea Mutti.

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.