Death Orb, Vol. 1

A rote futuristic action adventure, this collection reads like the daydreams of a metalhead and follows a biker known as The Rider as he travels a dystopian American wasteland in search of his kidnapped pregnant wife, leaving a trail of gory mayhem in his wake. Society persists in cities governed by the Lords, a religious order that blends faith with science, their efforts overseen by the megalomaniacal Father, who plots the destruction of humanity in order to rebuild it. His master plan, “The Great Impact,” involves dropping a massive satellite—the death orb of the title—onto the planet, thus ensuring an extinction-level event. He is opposed by a gang of outlaws and dissent from within his own ranks. The Rider joins the outlaws and their plan to rescue a psychic child who knows the location of Father’s temple city, which they must reach in order to bomb it into oblivion. The creative team trots out a catalogue of sketchily rendered postapocalyptic tropes that’s visually equal parts Mad Max, Blade Runner, and Akira; though they nod to their influences, they don’t do them justice in panels that at times look unfinished or rushed. Give this one a pass. [em](June) [/em]