The Orville, v2.5: Launch Day

by David A. Goodman

Other authorsRichard Starkings (Letterer), Michael Atiyeh (Colorist), Jimmy Betancourt (Letterer), David Cabeza (Artist)
Ebook, 2021

Library's rating

Library's review

I think I liked the previous volume better. This was...fine but v1.5 had more humor and I thought the stories were more interesting. The second story, "Heroes," I thought really needed one more issue to flesh out the story, the characters introduced, and especially the resolution.

Rating

(4 ratings; 3)

Publication

Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2021.

Description

Board the starship Orville and adventure through space on these new missions set between seasons two and three of Seth MacFarlane's hit sci-fi TV show! Executive Producer David A. Goodman writes a double feature that has Captain Ed Mercer and crew investigating an enigmatic alien device and contemplating the consequences of intervention when a primitive civilization faces an off-world threat. In "Launch Day," when seemingly hostile Krill ships cross into Union space, the Orville intercepts. Ed learns they are en route to a planet that left the Planetary Union decades ago under mysterious circumstances. Scans have discovered a moon-sized construct above the planet, and the Krill intend a preemptive strike against the presumed weapon. But is it? In "Heroes," Lieutenant Talla Keyali returns to a planet she surveyed as an Ensign when a quantum signature on the surface suggests significant technological advances since her last visit. Instead, she discovers a spacefaring species has subjugated the locals, transforming their once idyllic society into a grim mining operation. Stymied by the Union's hesitance to provoke hostilities, Talla must consider how far she's willing to go to help these people and the repercussions of doing so. Collects The Orville #1: Launch Day Part 1 of 2, The Orville #2: Launch Day Part 2 of 2, The Orville #3: Heroes Part 1 of 2, The Orville #4: Heroes Part 2 of 2.… (more)

Language

Original language

English

User reviews

LibraryThing member bragan
A slim graphic novel containing two stories based on the TV show The Orville, set between its second season, which aired what seems like a million years ago on Fox, and its upcoming continuation on Hulu.

The first story, "Launch Day," was rather disappointing. The plot, involving a planet that
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withdrew from the Union twenty years ago and might or might not now be building a superweapon, was slight and full of details that didn't really work, and there was a satirical element that simultaneously felt entirely too on-the-nose and not remotely developed enough to be interesting. Although there were at least some amusing lines.

The second, "Heroes," in which the crew visits a planet where people are being forced by aliens to work themselves to death in a mine and Talla gets to play superhero on their behalf, was a lot more fun, if not necessarily a lot more substantial, and featured a nice little kicker of an ending. I also quite liked the design of the nasty aliens. They're an interesting combination of slightly silly and genuinely menacing that fits the sensibility of The Orville really well.

Actually, I'm incredibly impressed by the art in these comics, overall, and especially with how perfectly the artist captures the faces of all the actors. It's amazing how often you get tie-in comics like these where the characters are practically unrecognizable, but here they feel like they've just walked straight of the TV and into the comics panels.

Rating: The first story drags things down enough that I'm only going to give this one a 3/5, but the art taken by itself would get a much higher rating, for sure.
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