Review – Shaper #2 (Dark Horse Comics)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Eric Heisserer

Artist(s): Ace Continuado, Adelso Corona, Wes Dzioba

Release Date: 15th April, 2015

Having never heard of Shaper before picking up this issue, I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

The best way to describe the feel of this story, I guess, would be Guardians of the Galaxy meets Firefly with Sam Alexander (the current Nova) as the protagonist. While the story itself is quite light to this point, with the creators still setting up their universe, all the characters have some definite weight to them. They all clearly have a deep backstory that I can easily see being spun off for a prequel series.

The artwork is brilliant with some panels so good that I would happily hang them on my wall. It has a modern yet rustic feel to it which really lends to the genre. The action scenes are very well conveyed, allowing your mind to easily fill in what occurs between panels. Even if the story was bad, which it most certainly isn’t, I would still come back just to see more of the artwork.

The story revolves around Spyr, an orphan teenager who discovers that his school teacher is actually his mother and that the military he idolises wants to hunt him down. All this is because he is a Shaper, a shapeshifter from a hidden planet who may be the being destined to bring down the military government. The story does contains a lot of tropes – although which story these days doesn’t? – but it is saved by the intrigue of mysterious past of its cast and the sharp dialogue.

Overall, this is a really good issue and I highly recommend picking it up if you fancy something a little different from your sci-fi.

Rating: 4/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK [Click to Enlarge]