Review: Cosmic Debris #3
How about the third installment of the sci-fi space opera with strong values of anti-authoritarian exploits, romance and comradery with sprinkles of psychonaut in art that delivers its most polished presentation to date? Set the space sails for Cosmic Debris issue three from Stu Perrins, J.E. Murphy, K.L. Murphy and Rob Jones.
If you're new to the world of Cosmic Debris, you should check out the reviews for issue one here and issue two here.
Stu Perrins is a favourite at CBNUK. The UK writer brought us the awesome Chrono-cat, Megatomic Battle Rabbit, Clockwork Inc, Brightside and Mr Mandrake's Marvellous Manual of Monsters, to name a few, with much more to come.
Co-creator and friend over the pond, John E Murphy, returns for the art. John is a comic book artist, painter and writer based in California and a volcano dwelling psychonaut. Alongside Cosmic Debris his work can be found in Chronicles of Terror and the upcoming Breath of Bakor. John has very interesting origins as a Navy Diver and awesome gig flyer artistry for Bad Religion and Nirvana.
Karly L Murphy is a writer, editor, photographer and reviewer and cat preferer. Alongside editing and script additions for this one, upcoming supernatural body horror comic Breath of Bakor with John is a very exciting prospect.
Finally, it's Rob Jones, master of indie letterers, part-time writer and Warhammer addict. Rob is a darling of the UK indie scene with previous works also for the prestigious Image, Titan, Dark Horse, Mad Cave, Penguin, Harper Collins and many more. Talents of enormity reacquainted, we best have a review.
So, let's start with the art. John E Murphy has a nice style that's really grown on me across the three issues. There are echoes of the underground scene in this style that I really appreciate, and this is the first issue where the cover is not the star. Instead the opening page of the "Immortal" flying through space at lightspeed is really awesome with its psychedelic background a real quality first offering. It's not alone either, as later the exploding droid panel is another great example and highlight of the art on offer.
The perspective work is much improved as well, with some challenging panels captured nicely. There are some great action moments alongside really well put-together character emotions, and overall, this is definitely the best-looking Cosmic Debris to date.
The accompanying colour work is really great with faultless presentation and a few stand-out moments like the pop art handshake panel or the opening page. Also, there are a few non-traditional panel border choices, which I found particularly pleasing, just for mixing things up a bit and adding a dynamic edge. Last but no means least, applause for the flippantly faultless lettering of Rob Jones, which never fails to please. Plaudits for the art proffered, it's the story bit.
Stu Perrins, with help from Karly and John, continues the space opera, anti-authoritarian, romance romp of Cosmic Debris with great accomplishment. We get a really nice origin story for the first meeting of O'Hara and Randall, along with further intrigue and mystery surrounding O'Hara. Then we're back on the quest for the ultimate looking evil Orlock with a great slice of humour added to the search. However, could the enemy of my enemy make a better friend? If I had to find a fault with this one, it's that it really felt like it ended just as we got started, but that's not really a bad thing. I'm just very much ready for the next issue.
Oh no!! It's an italic reminder/half pleading bit. Most importantly, back this book, there's always room for more in the beautiful UK scene, then please donate to our Ko-fi. It would really be a huge help. Sorry, thanks, on with the good stuff.
For fans of sci-fi, space opera, romance, mystery, anti-authoritarianism, quests for redemption of a likable rogue and his clockwork companion led by an amnesiac love interest whose fascinatingly interesting, dream dust, really evil looking not so bad bad guys (sort of), and art of accomplishment with echoes of the underground, you'll want Cosmic Debris issue three.
To get your copy, you can snag one through DriveThruComics here and on ComiXology here. It's a cracking ride this series, so get involved. I'd also recommend following these creators on BlueSky:
Stu Perrins @stuperrins.bsky.social
John E Murphy @johnmurphy.bsky.social
Karly L Murphy @karlymurphy.bsky.social
Rob Jones @robjoneswrites.bsky.social
Review: 4.3/5
