KEIF LLAMA: GAS WAR
Bizarre science, an atmosphere you can harvest, and a heroine called Llama.

Writer & Artist: Matt Howarth
Single Issue
Published by Oni Press 1999
$2.95

Reviewed by Paul Hanna

One planet made up of three stable masses within an encompassing atmosphere. Two bizarre races of sentients on the verge of violent conflict. One woman negotiating rights to harvest the planet's unique atmosphere. Add all of these to one comic and mix well.

The finished product is the delicious KEIF LLAMA: GAS WAR, an ambitious, way-out science fiction story which snugly fits inside a single thirty-page comic.

Keif Llama (pronounced Keef Yamma) is a xenotech, someone with the ability to fully comprehend the thought processes of alien beings. She is called upon for an apparently straightforward assignment by the galactic government: negotiate the rights to harvest elements from the ultra-dense atmosphere of the planet Cheecut-Haus for the Industrial Cartel.

"Howarth does a fine job of constantly hitting the reader over the head with new stuff"

From there, the plot begins to twist this way and that. Mysteries of Cheecut-Haus and its inhabitants begin to surface, and nothing remains as it seems.

Matt Howarth deals with the story in a frank, terse manner. His bizarre interpretation of science, which acts as a backdrop to the story, is easier to understand as a result. Themes such as death and change tend to slap the reader in the face thanks to Howarth's style.

Howarth uses the 30-page format near to its fullest potential by piling on the information. He does a fine job of constantly hitting the reader over the head with new stuff rather than teasing the reader until the climax, and manages to keep the surprises coming right up until the final panel.

The art itself is simple enough, yet engaging. Howarth's trademark stippling inking style proves very eye grabbing. The panels themselves move in a simple enough manner; it is what's in them that make the comic exceptional.

KEIF LLAMA is an acquired taste. But it's a book that deserves a fair chance from everybody.

Recommended

Paul Hanna is a regular contributor to PopImage.

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