STELLARLANDS #3
SALVAGE
Colour
44 pages
Wild
North Comics 2026
Writer:
Max Ferrada Artist: Ben Worrell Colourist: Wilson Go Letterer: Katrina Roets Scientific
Consultant: Dr. Alex Pietrow
Also
available in trade paperback, which includes issues 1 &2 and concept art and
creator stories.
Despite having swapped publishers, STELLARLANDS has
continued and has kept its core creative team intact, led by creator/writer Max
Ferrada and artist Ben Worrell, who have been driving this (eventually)
eight-part series. Like the two previous issues, STELLARLANDS 3 has kept the
same strict style, format, colour palette and narrative flow. It is reminiscent
of the works created by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows in the Providence &
Necronomicon series.
It is hoped this will remain for the entire run because, to me, this is one of
the best adult Sci-Fi comic series around, and it’s not even halfway through.
Despite being an eight-part
series, each issue is a complete story on its own with hints and nods towards
other issues. The sentence “To be continued” does not appear in the last panel
of these books.
Stellarlands is a masterclass in
world-building and adult storytelling. Set in a universe where space travel is
a necessity and politics are in constant motion as different worlds and races
figure out their allegiances and futures. Wars seem to be ongoing, with sides
changing and amalgamating as a new player enters the “game”. It is also a place
where preternaturals exist. Not quite superheroes, but useful tools to achieve
ends. The most important thing about these “preters" is that they are
human, with human frailties and feelings. These “frailties” are major
character traits in the first two issues, Inheritance & Asylum. Another is
time. Which brings us to issue 3.
The comic opens on the space
station ENOVOLD. It holds three museums' worth of artworks, as well as housing
military and Bio-Engineering labs. After an enemy attack, it is decided that
scuttling the station would be the most appropriate action. Guess which part of
its holdings doesn’t get the highest priority?
The comic revolves around a
painting that is housed in one of those museums’ collections.
Told over centuries, the story
bounces backwards and forwards in time. From the creation of the painting, its
subject and its particular role and place in time and space to different
people. The painting is not particularly important to everyone's story, but its
existence still affects those around it.
The preter Bryse is the daughter
of another powerful preter CARGO JANE and has the ability to manipulate spatial
properties. In other words can put a lot of stuff in a small package. Think the
TARDIS.
Being a child, she becomes bored
and, whilst playing over and over in her mind “who decides art?”, she makes a
discovery and a decision that no one her age should ever have to make.
But this is just part of a
larger tale. I found myself reading this comic several times and finding new
clues every time.
The Love of Art & the
Art of Love seem to be the themes here, though the meaning is twisted in
context to give a different singular meaning. Both have manipulative
connotations.
This is a complicated story, and
I cannot stress enough that this is not a kiddies comic. With little to no sex
or violence, it is a good read for a mature brain.
While lacking the action and
emotional punch of the first two issues, SALVAGE is a fine standalone comic
that adds to the building blocks that will finish the story of STELLARLANDS.
HERE IS A REVIEW OF STELLARLANDS 2
