Gone

DSTLRY is a new digital-first publishing operation from one of the co-founders of ComiXology.  So it’s natural that the first thing I’m reading from them is the print edition collection of this three-part miniseries from writer/artist Jock.  It takes place in the future in a run-down settlement next to a bustling spaceport where the inhabitants of the former try to survive by stealing from the latter.  Abi wants a better life for herself and her pregnant mother, which is why she agrees to help a crew steal from a large passenger transport that has recently docked there.  Faster than you can say, “So what goes wrong?” Abi finds herself stuck on the transport as it heads out into deep space filled with innocent passengers, zealous saboteurs, ruthless security forces, and a captain who is willing to do anything to protect what’s his.

“Gone” is nice, self-contained sci-fi adventure/thriller with  a well-told story that benefits from Jock’s always inventive and propulsive art.  It’s something that I’d have no trouble recommending to people looking for such a story were it being sold in a format appropriate to it.  While I can understand wanting to offer their digital comics in a fancy, eye-catching edition the fact is here that the story being told feels too slight for the $30 extra-trim-size-hardcover it has found its way into.  I’d much rather have paid $20 for a regular-sized softcover, but your mileage may vary depending on how much of a fan you are of the creator’s work.  My hope is that this will be the first and last time I have to bring up such an issue with a collection from DSTLRY, but I have a feeling that it’s just going to be the first.