When it comes to sci-fi, there are usually three things which you can guarantee with space adventures; a military-like organisation, aliens and conflict! Star Trek, Star Wars, Mass Effect, Dune (sort of), John Carter of Mars, all of them contain these things. Well, Doma Comics attempt to do a slightly different spin on that formula with Space Precinct Zero, by Jayson Santos and Chris Chandler about a new recruit thrust straight into battle with a new alien enemy.

Publisher: Doma Comics
Writer: Chris Chandler
Artist: Jayson Santos
Price: £3 each at www.DOMAComics.co.uk

Space Precinct Zero tells the story of Emay Reiziger, a newly graduated member of the United Continents Space Corp who, upon arriving at her first assignment on Space Precinct Zero, discovers that she is being placed in a frontline position thanks to the influence of her father, Chief Superintendent Harold Reiziger. However, no sooner has Emay’s first shift begun she finds herself thrust into the action when an unidentified alien spacecraft attacks the precinct, leading to this new recruit and her seasoned partner, Lucas Karaner, to take to their fighter along with every other member of the corp in order to defeat this new threat.

While similarly named but no relation to the Gerry Anderson Sci-Fi show, writer Chris Chandler has created an entertaining and action packed universe with Space Precinct Zero. The concept feels very reminiscent of a number of differing sci-fi concepts, such as Starship Troopers, David Broughton’s Shaman Kane and Matt Garvey’s Untitled Generic Space Comedy (not surprisingly). Chandler’s script appears to be very much action heavy, with the primary focus being on the events taking place. However, that isn’t to say that this is all there is to it as many of the characters come across as very intriguing, with Emay and Lucas have an interesting Judge Dredd/Anderson dynamic as they attempt to complete their mission. Then there are background figures like Sgt Panabaker, whose no nonsense feels truly fitting for the environment, and Emay’s father, whose initial actions result in his daughter’s plight as we watch him attempt to undo the damage he wrought. As such, the story feels like an all-round, solid piece, although there are minor holes which left me with questions such as ‘is Space Precinct Zero a police or military force?’ and ‘what is the aliens’ motives?’ Hopefully both answers will be revealed in due course.

As for the art, Jayson Santos provides a wonderful style which gives Space Precinct Zero a really beautiful look. Santos’ visual aesthetic in this comic is nicely rendered in black and white, giving the title a very Shaman Kane kind of vibe. However, the style does have a cleaner, sharper and less 2000AD look to it, resembling work done in Chunks by Cris Canfailla. Nevertheless, Santos really excels at layout the tremendous action sequences, giving them a lot of fun energy, while also providing great reactions in the face of characters, specifically the superintendent and as well as a surprise which Panabaker receives.

Space Precinct Zero is a really enjoyable read. With a fun, engaging story and beautiful, monochrome artwork, this is a comic series which is a wonderful waste of time and leaves me curious how ‘out of this world’ the story will go next.