Review – Mars Attacks: Occupation #1 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Andy Kuhn, Jason Lewis (Colours)
Release Date: 9th March 2016

This new series based on Tim Burton’s love letter to atomic age sci-fi, centres on a young woman named Ruby Johnson, the daughter of a former boxing champion, who like many others, has become an unwilling servant of the Martian invaders after they successfully attacked and conquered earth.

Right from the opening panels Ruby is cast as anything but a damsel in distress. Following her father’s example, she hones her combat skills whilst patiently awaiting the opportunity to take a swing at earth’s new rulers when the opportunity presents itself. The story offers early clues to suggest an underground resistance movement is active, and it looks likely that our determined heroine will somehow come into contact with them as the series draws on. We also see that not everyone can be trusted, and that the attempted Martian colonisation of Earth has some human help.

Layman embeds some solid emotional hooks for Ruby, which along with her tenacious, headstrong persona, creates an engaging, rounded character to root for. The plot point involving her father is key to this, and Layman nails the emotional drama, giving the story a very different the tone to the kooky, comedic one of the film. The Martians, too, are a little different than I expected, being a little more cold and calculated, but it all adds up to a refreshing, more grounded take on the idea.

Whilst Andy Kuhn’s artwork stylistically has a more light-hearted feel, strong thick lines with few curves or soft edges further define Ruby as a strong lead. Kuhn’s storytelling is smooth, switching effortlessly between past memories and the present, and the sense of human despair is amplified in compositions that highlight the Martian threat, with saucers, robots, and transformed cityscapes dotted throughout. Colourist Jason Lewis starts the book with a more conventionally feminine colour scheme in the first few pages, but very quickly the tone shifts to more muted and dark, again very different from the film, with the skies in most panels having an eerie reddish hue that further enhances the Martian theme.

Occupation is one of those comics that brings something truly unexpected. The subtle shift to a grim, pathos-laden tone is a masterstroke, given dramatic weight by a compelling central character and fantastic art.

Rating: 4/5

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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