Onyx #1
Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors by Jay Fotos
Letters by Shawn Lee
Cover art by Gabriel Rodriguez, Ashley Wood, Charles Paul Wilson III, Alan Robinson, and Sal Buscema
IDW Publishing
Release Date: July 1, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

At the end of Onyx #1 you’re going to hear a bit of a thud. That’s the mic dropping.

Writer Chris Ryall finally brings this labor of love to shelves of comic stores around the world, and boy, can you tell that Ryall loves this book. There’s some comics that I read where I can tell that the creators are just showing up to collect a paycheck, then they’re outta there and on to the their next project. Not so with Ryall and Onyx.

It’s the year 2083 and Earth has more than a few problems. Overpopulation. Lack of food. Lack of space. Oh, there’s also the small issue of an alien invasion, too. Thankfully, along comes the galactic warrior Onyx to help save the planet. Unfortunately for Onyx, the International Global Defense Corps isn’t that keen on Onyx and decide to try and put a stop to it.

I’m not as familiar with artist Gabriel Rodriguez as the rest of the world. Now, I wish I was. He is FANTASTIC, and he’s probably the ONLY artist that could draw this book and have it turn out this great looking. The artwork, the character designs, the tech, it’s all AWESOME! He stays clear of the usual sci-fi traps, and builds a future that’s both fantastic and recognizable. Don’t even get me started on all the awesome tech, ships, creatures, and everything else that he creates. It’s one of the best-looking comics that I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Congratulations! You’re done for the summer! You don’t need to buy ANY other comics that are coming out. Not Secret Wars, not any of DC’s weird experiment titles, nope, you just need this. Onyx is THE summer book of 2015. Bar none. It’s got everything: action, romance, sci-fi, heroics, and, hey, you have no idea how hard it’s been to write this review this spoiler-free. There’s A LOT of great stuff that I could tell you that would get you to buy this issue, but that’s not for me to reveal. Pick it up for yourself and find out why it’s my favorite book so far this year!