Kaptara #1

By Chip Zdarsky, Kagan McLeod, Becka Kinzie

“What the hell?? Are we dead? Were we dead all along? Is this Avatar heaven?? What are we going to do??”

So imagine yourself on a calming mission to Mars, the stars are all dazzling in the black abyss that is space, your crew-mates kind of annoy you, but some are cool and whatever, and then everything goes wrong! But in a good way… in the sense that this story goes from a normal setting to completely surreal and delivers something fantastic.

Writer Chip Zdarksy is creating a world full of imagination right from the start with issue #1 of Kaptara. The main character, Kieth, is the environmental scientist on a mission to Mars, and as stated above… the mission doesn’t really go as planned. Instead of Mars they end up on Kaptara, which is like earth with more pink and purple everywhere (and also some crazy looking animals). Zdarsky keeps a steady flow of humor throughout the issue and brings in rivalries and friendships right from the start, but after everyone lands on the alien planet you’re left to wonder… will they all find each other?

The artist on this series is Kagan McLeod along with colorist Becka Kinzie. The panels are filled with the surreal style the story itself is presenting – which is amplified by Kinzie’s take on the colors, which is loaded with pinks and purples and various shades of blue. There is a scene involving a vortex where both of these artists load the pages with the twisted lines of the space anomaly as the colors swirl around the ship slowly ripping it apart as the astronauts inside struggle to get to their escape pods. Soon the vortex becomes too much for them as a panel shows some of the ship exploding with a loud “KRRRRSHHHH” — yeah, now would be a good time to get moving!

This issue is loaded with great artwork and an imaginative story and is sure to be one you’ll want to pick up. So go do it!