Cemetery Beach
Warren Ellis, writer; Jason Howard, artist and book design
Image Comics, 2019
Warren Ellis suggested this miniseries as a break from Trees, the other series he co-created with artist Jason Howard. It certainly is quite a contrast: a nearly nonstop action story, much of the plot revolving around a single action. An advance scout from Earth named Mike Blackburn has been captured on a distant off-world colony. He escapes in the company of Grace Moody, a dissident and murderess. They have to cross most of the habitable part of the planet, from the capital Maincastle where they were being held to bleak Cemetery Beach, where Blackburn landed.
And the chase is on. It's an epic chase--nearly seven issues' worth--which happens on the ground, in underground tunnels, and in the air. Somehow it finds a way to escalate continually, resulting in ever-greater explosions and body counts. However unlikely the escape seems, Mike and Grace continue to wisecrack while performing nearly impossible feats to elude and confuse their pursuers. In the end Mike makes a surprising choice, and he and Grace go on their respective paths. It is a reasonably satisfying conclusion, which still leaves room for a future sequel.
This is Ellis in pop-comic mode, just having fun with a sci-fi/action genre story. Howard seems to relish the energy of the nearly non-stop action.
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