Port of Earth #3

by Michael D on January 10, 2018

Writer: Zack Kaplan
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Publisher: Image Comics

             This month’s Port of Earth #3 continues to provide an interesting, tense, sci-fi thriller at the cost of little character development. Fans of the genre will continue to find plenty to enjoy with this fascinating concept.
The team has really done a great job at providing an interesting world where they have the opportunity to explore some legitimate social issues. The idea of first contact being fueled by an economic interest rather than a scientific or world conquering one is ripe for storytelling.  This is especially clear at the beginning of the issue where they take some time to do some world building in the form of a TV broadcast. These bits are some of the strongest parts of the series. It’s a world very grounded in reality and I want to know everything about it such as how this has impacted unemployment or the impact on other energy sources. Turns out, a world that figured out the energy crisis isn’t much better than our own.

            The story picks up with a manhunt for the alien we were introduced to last issue. Kaplan and Mutti do a great job of making the action tense, particularly in the end when they are stalking the alien in a factory. The plotting is also handled well, providing a nice cliffhanger ending that makes me really interested to see what they have planned next month. The character development is still rather thin here. I even had to look at the past issue to remind myself the names of these characters. They’re fairly straight forward characters. One has some serious issue with the Consortium and aliens in general while the other has respect for the Consortium and the rules they have in place. Although, there is some hints that the characters might have some more depth to them than previously thought. I’m hopefully that this creative team can provide some stronger character work as they find their footing and get the world building out of the way.

            Kaplan and the rest of the creative team offer up another solid issue in a series with a completely fresh concept. They have created a world that I want to explore even if the characters are a bit thin.
 
 

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside