By Seaberry

Cold Space #1
Writers: Samuel L. Jackson and Eric Calderon
Art: Jeremy Rock
Colorist: Juan Manuel Tumburus
Letterer: Troy Peteri
BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99
Released: April 14, 2010

Samuel L. Jackson ventures into the world of creator-owned comics with Cold Space #1. Jackson and his Afro Samurai collaborator Eric Calderon have teamed up to tell the story of Mulberry, a space pirate in the year 4012. When the story begins, his ship is boarded by space cops intent on arresting him. Mulberry easily eludes them, and warp jumps to another area of space. His ship crash lands on a strange, corrupt planet, and the adventure really begins.

Mulberry, who is drawn to look like Samuel L. Jackson, is a totally cool character. He rarely gets flustered in combat, and his handling of the space cops was hilarious. One cop, Johnson, seemed to have a history with Mulberry. Their interaction implies a lot of potential backstory and future plot developments. Also, the inhabitants of the planet that Mulberry crashes on are also very colorful and are begging to be embellished. He encounters a very interesting motorcycle gang, corrupt businessmen, and rival gangs. The most interesting character visually is Patience, who we learn nothing about. We are thrown into the middle of Mulberry’s story with no explanation, but it only made me more curious to learn about him and to see how he deals with these situations.

Mulberry is very reminiscent of characters Jackson has played in the past. In some ways, it felt like I was reading “Shaft in Space.” He’s tough under fire, extremely confident, and not afraid to fight. I also saw a few traits evident in other lone adventurers such as James Bond and the Clint Eastwood outlaws. The few times that Mulberry does get flustered, however, prevents him from being a run-of-the-mill clone of every secret agent and pulp hero of the past.

Cold Space definitely has me hooked. My only complaint is that it felt like everything and nothing happened at the same time in this issue. First issues normally have to sacrifice some action for plot development, and this one was no exception. Despite this being a “setup issue,” the potential twists and turns for the characters and the series really drew me in. I was very sad to see the last page and if future issues are this compelling, BOOM! Studios may have another hit on their hands.