Arcbound #1 is written by Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri with character development from Tom Hardy. Artwork is by Ryan Smallman, colours by Frank William and letters by Buddy Beaudoin. Main cover art (left) is by Smallman. The book is published by Dark Horse Comics.
Arcbound #1 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy now from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling-author SCOTT SNYDER, comics titan FRANK TIERI and acclaimed artist RYAN SMALLMAN with contributions by Oscar-nominated actor TOM HARDY to bring you a bold new sci-fi saga! In a future where Earth has become a barren wasteland, Zynitec harnesses the unmatched energy of Kronium to assert its dominion across the stars. When Kai, a rising star Mediator in Zynitec’s army, gets an unexplained message from a mysterious entity, everything he thinks he believes is thrown into question—and leaves him to explore what it truly means to be human in a world where the boundaries of technology and identity blur.
Review
There’s always someone who will roll their eyes when you mention a new project with a big-name actor attached. Be it Keanu Reeves working on BRZRKR or Paul Dano stepping back in to Edward Nashton’s shoes for Riddler: Year One. Detractors will always suggest it’s a simple publishing ploy to boost sales. But with a name like Tom Hardy, synonymous with hard career graft and creativity, could new Dark Horse series Arcbound bypass the criticism?
Right out of the gate Arcbound has a really well defined mythology and structure. All great sci-fi positions itself to tell a story about humanity and what it means to be human. Arcbound takes the unique approach of framing humanity as one of the galaxy’s greatest weaknesses rather than one of its strengths. It instantly sets the series apart from its utopian cousins on comic book store shelves. Within that well defined mythology are a set of strong characters. Particularly the series lead, Kai, and his brother Xander, both soldiers in a group called the Mediators.
The building blocks of the story aren’t necessarily all original. Humanity has turned Earth in a to a completely uninhabitable wasteland and now looks to the stars for survival. The first thing that springs to mind there is Wall-E though Arcbound is certainly not a touching rom-com between robots. Then there’s the Zynitec Corporation, a collection of probably evil suits who oversees the Mediators. Sending them out to subjugate planets across the galaxy in order to mine them for a mysterious substance known as Kronium. There’s certainly shades of Alien‘s Weyland-Yutani in the approach to Zynitec’s place in the story and a dusting of Dune with Kronium replacing the Spice. All the pieces fit together nicely to round out Arcbound‘s world and it certainly makes this first issue feel well conceptualised.
Hardy is credited on the book for “character development” which suggests he had a rough outline which was then fleshed out by Snyder and Tieri. Snyder’s fingerprints are felt in much of the dialogue in this issue. There’s a definite sense that everyone is having fun putting Arcbound together, even when the book is at its most philosophical. It’s refreshing to see the amount of depth which Snyder and Tieri have instilled in to Kai given that much of Arcbound is very action-orientated. This could easily be a book which focussed on more surface level drama rather than digging too deeply in to the human condition. Coming out of issue #1 I’m excited to see just how much the writers plan on analysing humanity for its flaws through the lens of Kai’s conflict with the company.
That sense of adventure and energy pops through in Ryan Smallman’s incredible artwork too. Arcbound is so clean. In a way it’s almost so clean it appears razor sharp. Smallman’s style is often cartoonish yet somehow plays in perfectly to moments of hyper-violence which are littered throughout Snyder and Tieri’s script. On top of that, Frank William’s colours put the series squarely in classic science fiction territory. In terms of visual design there are moments which took me right back to the 90’s, taking inspiration from classics like Aeon Flux. Finding a sweet spot between something cartoonish and something more avant-garde.
Verdict
Somewhere between Dune and Halo lies Arcbound. Building off a surprisingly well-constructed set of characters from Tom Hardy, writers Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri have crafted a first issue which stabs right at the heart of the human condition. Arcbound #1 succeeds in striking balance between deep philosophical questions and high stakes (and sometimes brutal) action.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
