Dead Space #1 (Special Convention Edition) – Review

By Anthony Johnston (writer) & Ben Templesmith (art)

Dead Space is an Electronic Arts game that’s going to be released in Fall 2008 for video game consoles and the PC platform. This comic is the prequel to that game, and since I’m going to buy the game, I don’t mind reading the comic book to get more of the background story.

The story seems to borrow elements of 2001, Doom 3 and Aliens. It has a creepy atmosphere, a greedy government, a strange alien monolith, and religion thrown in for good measure. You’d think this would be a recipe for disaster, but this issue is a great introduction to the series and it’s ripe with lot of tension.

The story begins with a distress transmission from a planet that humans intented to colonize. We’re then transported to a series of flashbacks that slowly unravel the story. People start to act strangely, the crap hits the fan, and well, you get my drift.

Please check this video trailer of Dead Space’s trailer. It features Ben Templesmith’s art made into quasi-animated sequence. It kicks ass! The footage you’ll see is not from this issue, however. It seems it’s from a preview or #0 never published (his partner doesn’t get attacked from a monster in #1, that’s the reason of my assumption). Anyway, if you see this issue floating around, give it a go. You’ll enjoy yourself. Oh, and a closing note: I believe that the only difference between the convention edition and the regular edition is the variant cover. (Grade: B)

-Daniel Yanez

P. S. – We are giving away stuff from WonderCon, including a signed copy of Dead Space #1 by Templesmith, himself! Check it out what do you need to do to get that for FREE.