Sigil, vol. 1: Mark of Power TPB
Review by Doc Ezra
Story:
Art:

Written by Barbara Kesel
Pencils by Ben Lai
Inks by Ray Lai
Colors by Wil Quintana
Letters by Dave Lanphear

Published by CrossGen
Contents: Collects Sigil issues #1-7
Price: $19.95

My advice: A must-have for sci-fi fans

Samandahl Rey can't catch a break. Stuck on the planet Tanipal without two creds to rub together, he goes out for an evening of betting and bloodsport with his partner Roiya. Unfortunately for them both, a vengeful Saurian war leader Tchlusarud ("Loser" to Sam and company) has sent a squad of soldiers to capture Rey. Fortunately for them, there happen to be a pair of soon-to-be allies at the match, one JeMerik Meer (enigmatic Tanipali security chief with many secrets to keep) and one Zanniati (just the one secret - she's an escaped wife of a sultan who wants her back badly). As the battle rages, Sam is grabbed by a mysterious Saurian and imprinted with a sigil, while his partner Roiya takes a mortal shot to the body.

Sam's subsequent rage awakens the sigil, blasts half the Tanipal hangar, and transfers Roiya's essence into the main computer of his beloved ship, the Bitterluck. So with two new passengers, a disembodied partner, and a weird glyph on his chest, Sam sets out to escape a rapidly degenerating situation where multiple enemies want him dead for a whole host of reasons. Toss in a visit from one of the First, space battles and rayguns aplenty, and action that absolutely will not stop for any reason, and you have Sigil: Mark of Power.

One of CrossGen's two sci-fi titles (the other being the excellent Negation), Sigil is high space opera with all the conventions. Hostile aliens, beautiful princesses, plasma cannons, FTL starships, you name it. The only real wrinkle is the sigil-bearer himself, whose power is the reconfiguration and reshaping of matter (handy, that, n'est pas?). This solitary alteration to the standard science fiction adventure formula is sufficient to make this title a unique sort of crossbreed between two-fisted pulp, sci-fi, and classic four-color comic adventure. The result is sheer brilliance.

Barbara Kesel's writing is first-rate, and the pacing here barely lets you catch your breath from one issue to the next. Each of the characters has a distinct personality, and her ability to play those personalities off of each other is impressive. The character of Samandahl Rey is all gruff aging soldier, with a soft spot the size of a planet for his deadly beautiful co-pilot/ghost in the machine Roiya, who makes the perfect foil for him. JeMerik Meer is still the big mystery at this point, with very little of his background revealed. There is, however, obviously more to the man than he (or Kesel) is letting on. Add in Zanniati for a strong (corporeal) female presence, and the crew of four is ready to rock the galaxy.

The art is likewise good, though there are places when there is SO much happening on a given two pages that it can be a bit confounding on the eye. Riots of metal and machine and the occasional blast of energy make the battle scenes incredibly kinetic and confusing, which conveys nicely the chaos of warfare for those embroiled in the middle. However, it does occasionally leave the reader skimming back a few pages to catch important details that disappeared against the background. This is a minor complaint, at worst, one that doesn't detract from the overall quality of the work. The only issue holding the art back in these early issues is that nobody seems to be quite ready to settle on a look for Sam. Despite his "advanced years," he looks positively boyish in some frames, and will suddenly shift to a bit more wrinkled a few pages later. Again, not enough to disrupt the flow of story, but noticeable enough to be a little jarring.

Fans of science fiction owe this one to themselves and their collection. Sigil is sci-fi in the grand old sense of the word, conjuring up classics of the past like Doc Smith to contemporary military sci-fi greats like Dickson and Drake. The series promises to only get better from here, and you don't want to be left out, now, do you?