2015 has brought forth a lot of sci-fi and space themed comic books. Not all of them have been worth reading and frankly a lot of them have had a difficult time building their world. Bornhome #1 is interesting is that it builds two worlds in a way. The first issue kicks off on a planet that looks a bit abandoned. We find two kids playing in a rundown amusement park. They’re fun is almost over as they see night fall coming, but also a crashing spaceship. They run, but one of the kids doesn’t make it. The pilot gets out of his ship pissed off that he’s been knocked out of the fight only to see the remaining child standing over his friend. He begins to apologize, but the boy tells him it’s okay and that people die all the time. He’s very numb to it and it’s kind of sad, but also instantly telling of the world he lives in.
The pilot still feels bad about the death and offers to get the kid home, but also makes note of how abandoned the world is. The kid lets him know that it’s been that way for a hundred years or so which ends up being his answer to a lot of the pilot’s questions. Here we learn the other side of the world with the space battle and the most priceless substance in the universe terracore. Basically a terracore can change a world and give it life. There’s twists to both sides of this story and frankly I’m curious to see where the mini-series goes.
Paul Tobin has crafted yet another sci-fi world that’s interesting and believable. His Gunsuits is also a solid sci-fi world, but Bornhome is very different. It has some social commentary as well with the children of this planet being the only survivors. I kind of take that as commentary on war in the real world, but maybe I’m wrong. I also like the idea of the terracore. A twist to the story that I won’t reveal makes me question this substance and so again, I’m curious to see what Tobin has instore for it.
The art is consistent and nice. The kids look like kids and not just disproportioned adults like they usually do. The world and setting look futuristic which is of course important when crafting a new sci-fi world. The coloring was a bit too dark and the use of purple felt like overkill. There’s a lot of purpled used regardless of the setting which was just too much in the end. Especially since we bounce between space and the planet and they both have purple hues. Otherwise the art is a bit rough-looking giving the world the perfect abandoned feeling.
There’s definitely a lot of world building done in this issue. There’s some info-dump moments, but I don’t think it breaks the overall story. With it only being a four issue mini I’m glad to have it out-of-the-way so we can just enjoy the rest of the series and discover the answers to the mysteries placed before us in this first issue. If you like sci-fi, you might want to check out Bornhome.
Score: 3/5
Bornhome #1 Writer: Paul Tobin Artist: Jeff Johnson Publisher: American Gothic Press Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital