Primordial
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- £17.99
Publisher Description
Mind-bending sci-fi and Cold War thriller collide in this 6-issue series by the bestselling, Eisner-winning creative team behind GIDEON FALLS! In 1957, the USSR made history by launching a dog named Laika into Earth’s orbit. Two years later, the USA responded with two monkeys, Able and Baker. These animals never returned. But unbeknownst to everyone, they did not die in orbit…they were taken. And now they are coming home.
Collects PRIMORDIAL #1-6
Select praise for PRIMORDIAL:
“…Ambitious and innovative comics storytelling…” —ComicBook.com
“Has plenty to offer to fans of American history, science fiction, and good storytelling.” —Comic Book Resources
“All in all, sci-fi fans, LEMIRE fans, SORRENTINO fans, Image fans, this is a must buy.” —Black Nerd Problems
“A classic Cold War thriller in the making. But it’s also far more ambitious than that, with a sci-fi storyline at its heart and visuals evoking 2001: A Space Odyssey… Part John le Carré and another part Arthur C. Clarke.” —Comicon.com
“For a creative team this brilliant, it really means something to say that they are at the top of their game. But sure enough…some of their best work!” —Monkeys Fighting Robots
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lemire and Sorrentino (the Gideon Falls series) reunite to craft a darkly curious animal allegory about the costs of the Cold War, which swells with empathy and imagination but fails to deliver on its inventive premise. The story opens in an alternate 1961, after the American space program has been shut down following a test mission that ended due to reports of the deaths of its lab monkeys, Able and Mrs. Baker. MIT researcher Dr. Pembrook arrives at Cape Canaveral for a top-secret project, where he's told by a mysterious operative that the monkeys didn't in fact die, but that along with the Soviets' test dog Laika, they were "taken... and we think they're still out there somewhere." Pembrook travels to East Berlin, where Laika's old caretaker, Yelena, draws him further into the conspiracy. Sorrentino's shadowy, sinister art in the terrestrial scenes contrasts neatly with the bright, psychedelic images set in outer space, where the monkeys and Laika have met, bonded, and appear to be heading home courtesy of an alien intelligence. The hints provided to outline this skewed alternate world are tantalizing (Nixon beat Kennedy in 1960) but too thinly laid out. The test-animal story line is heartbreaking, laced with tragedy-haunted sweetness. Though fans of mystery-minded speculative fiction (plus monkeys) will enjoy the premise, the inconclusive third act will likely leave them wishing there was a sequel. There's a lot of potential here, but not enough of it is realized.
