Writer: Mike Allred
Artist: Martin Ontiveros
Letterer: Sean Konot
Single Issue
Published by Oni Press May 1999
$2.95

Reviewed by Paul Hanna

There are two kinds of science fiction stories: those that force somebody to think about the future and the nature of humans, and those that skimp on story and characterization to go for broke on the visuals, with superfluous gadgetry and extraneous shoot-em-up scenes.

This was how I thought before I read CRASH METRO AND THE STAR SQUAD, a story from Mike Allred (MADMAN) and newcomer Martin Ontiveros. It falls into neither of these categories. Although the story and characterization are lacking, the illustration does little to attempt to divert attention away from it.

The black and white format is not used to its fullest here, and the figures look stiff with minimal facial expression. Ontiveros's line makes the illustrations look like something from a cheap 1960s cartoon show. This may have been intentional: to couple a lack of emotion in the dialogue and story with a similar absence of emotion in the illustration, but this does little to make up for an otherwise simplistic story...

"The disjointed story and want of characterization all visibly hinder the book's potential"

Crash Metro and the Star Squad are called back from a planet patrol to repel an invasion by the Cybots, a race of giant alien robots. Before Crash and his crew successfully return to their starship, they are ambushed by a weird, spiny creature with tentacles called a Whatzzit, which promptly devours Crash's brother, Cliff. After mourning for all of one panel, Crash and his squad leave to battle the Cybots. The rest is one big action scene.

Had CRASH METRO gone all out on the illustration, it might have at least been fun to look at. Perhaps if the illustrations had been done using a computer, like 1998's THE DOME: GROUND ZERO (which used software such as Freehand and Photoshop to create sophisticated 3-D style graphics), CRASH METRO might have worked on some level.

But as it stands, the disjointed story progression and want of characterization all visibly hinder the book's potential as a blockbuster action story. With its cartoonish art and predictable, fluffy story, CRASH METRO comes off having an excessively retro 60s feel - which is probably best left in the 1960s. CRASH METRO is therefore nothing new, nothing that has been done many times before, and often better.

Not recommended

Paul Hanna is a regular contributor to PopImage.

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