Rook: Exodus vol. 1

The man known only as Rook came to the planet Exodus, bought and colonized by the Better-World corporation, looking for a new life after his farm on Earth burned down.  Now he’s looking for a way off the planet after the World Engine terraformer failed, leaving it to slowly return to its barren state.  He may be a Warden, an individual who interfaces with and oversees one of the animal species on Exodus, but he doesn’t feel any real duty to the ravens under his command.  Which becomes a problem when a rogue Warden named Ursaw and his bear army roll into town looking to collect all of the other Wardens and the helmets which are the source of their powers.  Flight isn’t an option anymore, now Rook has to fight this new threat to his decaying way of life.

While this series is written by Geoff Johns and hails from his Ghost Machine imprint, it’s set in a different universe than the “Unnamed” one which is home to Geiger and Redcoat.  This first volume of “Rook:  Exodus” is as slickly executed a sci-fi action story as you’d expect from the writer and his frequent collaborator Jason Fabok.  The latter really delivers on detailed action throughout this volume, turning it into a showcase for his skills.  Johns doesn’t actually give us a whole lot new with the execution of this setup, but the overall story of this volume is fun in a movie-ready kind of way.

Actually, I think there’s another medium “Rook:  Exodus” would be better adapted to in a throwback fashion.  This is because it comes off as a more mature (read:  violent) take on the kind of toyetic cartoons that dominated the 80’s and early 90’s.  You’ve got the standard sci-fi setting, the action-figure looking cast with their individual animal followers, and an origin story that feels like it would’ve made for a decent weeklong premiere.  I’m not saying this is a good or bad thing; though, Daniel Warren Johnson’s modern take on “Transformers” has more surprises to it than what you’ll find here.  Which means that vol. 2 had better step up its game if it wants to enjoy anything close to the enduring success of that franchise.