Spotlight Review Space Doubles the Trade Paperback

SPACE DOUBLES TRADE

Publisher Th3rd World Studios

Creator / Executive Producer : Scott Closter

Th3rd World Studios allowed me to review the entire Space Doubles Trade. For your $20 you are getting one hell of a ride. From the first story to the last you are getting more bang for your buck that at least 75% of the books on the market. If you are a science fiction fan that this is a must read book for you. If you like me are a science fiction and a comic book fan, then the only question you have to ask yourself is when can I buy this book.

This is a FIVE STAR / A +++ / book.

First off let’s back up and talk about what is Space Doubles. Space Doubles is a sixties science fiction feast for the eyes and the mind. So much of what is classified as science fiction today is either pure space opera or good solid soap operas on a space ship (or station) with very little of actual science fiction that I grew up on. This is the Outer Limits packaged as a handy book to read and peruse at your leisure. With 12 stories you can read one with your morning coffee and another while you are on a lunch break.

As an anthology book you always have fears that half the material will be good and the rest is less than good. If you are like me you do compare story to story as you read along and think that I liked story “A” better then story “B”. What does not happen when you are reading this is that you think any of the stories are not well worth reading and a few of them I read a second time so I would slow done a little and enjoy the art. One story I was forced to “google” the name of the doctor because the name was too odd to not be purposeful and I learned something that made that story even better. Finite was a wonderful end of the human race story and one that is new to this trade. Rehab was out and out funny and just plan amusement and another new story for this trade.

I guess what I like best about Space Doubles is that when I read the stories they make me smile. I’m a science fiction fan and grew up loving Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and other authors. I have enjoyed Farscape, Star Trek and their ilk, but I have missed having a show like the Outer Limits, that was often one part science fiction and one part horror if science or other things go wrong.

Comics are a wonderful medium that is too often self limiting to being too much about super heroes. It is a medium which can tell stories in any genre and since the end of the sixties we have not seen anything like “Weird Science” or even “Mystery in Space”. What Space Doubles does is give us a wonderful science fiction anthology that is fascinating, scary and at times thought provoking and remains FUN! To me one of the best parts is the flip format of the book, where you read one half then flip the book and read the other half.

12 Stories for $20 and look at the writers you are getting: Mike Raicht ("/Exiles/: Days of Then and Now"), Leah Moore and John Reppion ("Witchblade – Shades of Gray"), Jason Hall (/"Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures" and "Hellboy Animated"/), Justin Robinson ("Heavy Metal's Fluorescent Black"), Mark Andrew Smith ("Amazing Joy Buzzards") and Scott Closter ("Eskimo Dave"). This collection also features 4 never before seen tales by Mike Baron ("Nexus"), Dwight L. Macpherson ("Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo"), Ben Raab and Deric Hughs ("Living in Infamy") and Andrew Dabb ("Atomika").


Instead of reviewing each and every story let me direct you to the complete review of Space Doubles #1 here. Which as you can see was round robin approach the Lee, Gwen and I took and unfortunately we are not able to do these as often as we would like as our real lives keep us too busy to do it right.

The second issue was reviewed by just Gwen and I and it can be seen here.

The third review was a solo review by just me and can be seen here.

We never got issues #4 and #5, but they are all packed into this trade.

Space Doubles is a high quality graphic science fiction anthology that is really worth your hard earned money. Tell your comic shop to order it today.

Or order it from Amazon here.

Tagline: Space Doubles like Doublemint Gum doubles your pleasure and doubles your fun.

SPACE DOUBLES TRADE PAPERBACK - PRESS RELEASE

We seldom publish press releases, but this book is a one that you owe it to yourself to buy it and read it.

TH3RD WORLD STUDIOS

TO COLLECT SCI-FI SERIES SPACE DOUBLES INTO TRADE PAPERBACK

Ain't it Cool News called Th3rd World Studios’ retro sci-fi series"Space Doubles", "…a treat to read and a must-see for sci-fi/horrorfans."


Comixtreme dubbed it, "…a good looking, fast reading comic
that’s just a whole lot of fun, and makes me wonder why more people aren’t doing comics like this."


Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales
hailed it as, "…unique genre that has been missing too long from the comic racks."


Now collected into one 140 page trade paperback and presented in flip book format just like the original miniseries, "Space Doubles" asks the great sci-fi question--WHAT IS TO COME? With thrilling tales featuring everything from moon landings to zombies in space to existential bug infestations, the answer will shock you.

"The feedback from fans and reviewers has been overwhelming. When Closter brought this project to us I had a feeling the series would have a solid following among the sci-fi faithful, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it break into the top 300 in overall comic sales for the month", said Jon Conkling, co-publisher of Th3rd World Studios.

"I've always been a Science Fiction fan at heart, and at the time I started Space Doubles there wasn't much presentation of the genre beyond the licensed product. … I wanted to see something out there that could give someone the same sort of feeling that one would get reading a collection of old SF short stories from PKD, Bradbury and the like", series creator Scott Closter.


Collecting all of the stories from the 3 issue limited series; the "Space Doubles" trade paperback features a host of established writers from the original series including Mike Raicht ("/Exiles/: Days of Then and Now"), Leah Moore and John Reppion ("Witchblade – Shades of Gray"), Jason Hall (/"Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures" and "Hellboy Animated"/), Justin Robinson ("Heavy Metal's Fluorescent Black"), Mark Andrew Smith ("Amazing Joy Buzzards") and Scott Closter ("Eskimo Dave"). This collection also features 4 never before seen tales by Mike Baron ("Nexus"), Dwight L. Macpherson ("Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo"), Ben Raab and Deric Hughs ("Living in Infamy") and Andrew Dabb ("Atomika").

Also included are 2 brand new stories of the very popular "Pickles from Pluto" by Brian Smith.
*Space Doubles Collection 1: Set the Controls* hits stands in October. You can pre-order it in the August preview catalog. (Diamond Order #/AUG084292/)

Space Double #3 – A Review

The great thing about doing a Space Doubles review is that you get to read two books in one comic. I love the concept of Space Doubles because I have missed having the old sci/fi horror types of stories that used to populate so many comics and other popular fiction from yesteryear.

I think the idea of exploring space was starting to become a real possibility and the danger of the unknown was almost palatable. When we project that feeling we can imagine almost any horror and these stories resonate with that feeling. I’m sure the sea monsters of old were generated by the fear of sailing off into the unknown.

I have really enjoyed the first two issues and I encourage you to go out and make your store order a copy so you don’t miss out and I appreciate the opportunity to do an eary review of Space Doubles #3.

Story A – Everywhere I Look Bugs
Writer: Scott Closter
Art: Philip Schaufelberger
Gray Scaler: T. L. Collins

First off the story is by Scott Closter who is the brains behind this entire concept and one heck of a nice guy. Scott has been so generous of his time with the blog, that I had some trepidation going into this review, because if I hadn’t liked the story I would have hated to pan it. No problem as this story was a gem.

The story starts out with Dr. Thodol helping out a patient who is a celebrity Space Man and someone who has apparently become the face of the program. Now the name of the doctor was so damn odd that once I read the story I went back and googled the name and found out the meaning of the name and it made the story absolutely perfect.

Steve Cook is the central character in this play and as he talks to the therapist he states that he sees bugs where ever he goes. The therapist asks Steve to recount when he first starting having the problem and we go back to Steve’s last space mission.

As the story progresses we flash back and forth between the mission and the doctor’s office. The creepy part was seeing the doctor’s office start to have more and more bugs in it. Also the doctor himself started to turn bug like. As that part progresses we also see what happened to Steve on the mission and learn how Steve’s life come to a horrific end.

I do not want to give it away, but the way Scott tied the whole thing together was excellent and as I said made so by understanding the meaning of Dr. Thodol’s name.

The art work was solid. I loved the space ship scene and the crash landing was all done very well. Philip’s work still has a way too go to make me look out for his name, but it conveyed the story in great fashion.

So Story A gets an “A” as I was thoroughly entertained and was sold once I learned how it all tied together.

Story B – Escape Pod
Writer: Mark Smith
Art: Matthew Huynh
Color/Grayscales: Josh Norwood

This was another fun story. Escape Pod can be read as a young adult’s wish fulfillment. The central character is a young man who is stuck in a dead end job, who lives to ogle what ever good looking woman who comes into the store and then ends his nights with cigarettes and beer. This is a story that portrays a kind of hopeless and endless existence that seems to be going nowhere for our main character.

A chance accident causes a blow to his head and his memories come flooding back and he remembers he is a space explorer evaluating new worlds for his race. Again I will not give away the ending but he does end up in bed with a hot babe. Not the normal horrific ending we have grown accustomed to in Space Doubles, but just as valid of a choice.

Again this can be read in multiple ways. The ending could be a delusion caused by the blow to his head or it could be what actually is “the truth”. A story that makes you smile and it makes you stop a second and think about our lives. Great job by the writer Mark Smith.

The artwork reminded me of Becky Cloonan and Ryan Kelly. There is heaviness to the line work and plenty of detail. It has a nice fluid feel to it and has an “indy” vibe to it, in a good way. The layout and design of the pages were well done and Matthew can definitely tell a story.

Story “B” gets an “A”.

Remember that both stories are conveying all of this information in just eleven pages. Short stories are much tougher then longer stories because you have to get in and get out in almost no time and try to tell a story without being heavy handed.

I have enjoyed every issue so far of Space Doubles and I think issue #3 is the best to date.

Space Doubles #2 – A Review

Space Doubles #2 - A Review

The Sympathizers – Written by Justin Robinson / Artist by Aneurin Wright.

A quick primer Space Doubles is a mini-series that has two stories per issue. Each story is totally separate from the other stories. I consider it to be a lot like the TV show “The Outer Limits” only with an unlimited CGI budget.

Jim: The Sympathizers was a great story. They used the Three Laws of Robotics from Isaac Asimov which was an immediate plus. The premise is a group of Aliens crash land on Earth and after twenty years of second class citizen status they are given an equal status with humans. The proof of this is all robots now recognize them as humans.

Then the same group of bad guy Aliens that drove the Aliens from their home world show up and start to attack earth. Relocation camps are set-up and the whole Japanese interment camps of the United States in WWII is relived. Humans who are friends of the Aliens (sympathizers) plot to end their misery.

The ending is wonderful little twist that I do not want to give away, but needless to say it was an appropriate ending. A well told story.

The art was solid also. Mr. Wright draw a cool Quasaar (the name of the Aliens). I loved his robots, especially Giskard who had a heavy Jetson style influence to him, but was really well done. In the span of a few pages the artist drew battle scenes, personal scenes, a political rally, a prison camp and did all very well.

“Sympathizers” was a winner in my book.

Gwen: I enjoyed this story. It did a decent job of telling a short story over a long span of time. There were some things that weren't explained to my satisfaction, but that was easily overlooked. I liked the ending, it worked with the theme of the story and did what science fiction does best - told the human story in a fantastical situation.

The art was a lot of fun - I got a kick out of the fish-like aliens and I thought the character expressions were well done. Still, the best thing the art did was the layouts - it really helped to tell the story and draw the reader into this alternate reality.

Overall, a good, fun and yet thought provoking tale.

Saucerful of Secrets – Writer Jason Hall – Artists – Ron Chan and Rich Ellis / Ron Chan Inker and Grayscaler Steve Talaba

Jim: What a great little story. I'll start with the artwork first. I’m not sure who did what, as we have two pencillers listed, but it was very well done. It had solid clean lines, a straightforward layout. What really worked with the art is how solid and realistic it was and how that offset the whole premise of the story.

I can really say too much about the story without giving it away, but I’ll just say that the future is not all we would like it to be. Also after you read the story the lingering questions as to what is real as opposed to what is not real is left hanging in your mind. A wonderful disturbing tale of a bleak future, that as all good science fiction stories do, reflect today.

Also I love the covers and would love to own the "Saucerful" cover.

Another winner - appropriately enough Space Doubles has two great stories.

Gwen: I was honestly somewhat confused by this story at first, but by the time I got to the end the plot was mostly cleared up. I really like the art, especially how much they managed to do with a black and white setting.

As I said, the plot was somewhat confusing. I think the problem came from trying to introduce a foreign 'future' setting without having the time to really lay it out. Still, the writer gets his point across in the end and there's enough to the story that doesn't depend on understanding the world that the reader is left pondering the implications of the character's choices.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I'd like to see more work from these creators.

This is a book that I can support and really look forward to each issue. How much more bang for your buck can you get than with two complete stories every issue. Plus some great little science-fiction tales that are running the gambit from 50's horror tales to classic tales that have a moral or lesson to teach us about today.

Space Doubles - A Review

It appears that our little blog is getting more and more notice. This week, Th3rd World Studios, another small publisher, contacted us about a book they produce called Space Doubles. The creator of Space Doubles and business director Scott Closter was kind enough to send us a review copy.

Jim: As the name implies Space Doubles is really two stories in the old flip book format. What is very cool about this book is the throwback feel to it. It reminds me of Outer Limits episodes or EC Weird Science stories. It is horror-science fiction at its most fun. I think the horror science fiction genre grew up in the fifties because the prospect of true space exploration was in the air and anytime we are dealing with the unknown it can be a scary thing.
Lee: I am really glad that Scott contacted us. I loved this cover the first time I saw it. It was strong, vibrant, and had a great horror feel to it. The claw on top of the helmet is just perfect. AND.... Outer Limits, Jim??? Wasn't that the name of the first monkey in space???
Gwen: I really enjoyed these books! Old school sci-fi at its best with good art to boot! This is something I'd have missed if we hadn't been asked to do this review. I definitely glad I got the chance to read this.

The first story was Red Rain – writer Mike Raicht and artist Alecia Rodriguez with grayscaler David Barkmann.

Jim: The moon was hit by an unknown object and the impact surrounded the moon in a red cloud. The United States gathered a team to send them to the moon to investigate. Once they arrive they find that things are not what they imagined them to be. I don’t want to do a full story summary, because I want you to pick up the book and try it out.

The twist ending and the actual story itself is not an shocker or even a wholly new idea, but the story reads very well and evokes a little of the old time feeling that I had when the US space program was beginning. The ending had a really nice tone to it and conveyed the proper feeling. I’m unfamiliar with the artist Alecia Rodriguez, but while John Cassady and Frank Quietly aren’t quaking in their boots, it was a well done job. Solid layouts and a clean depiction of the story. A really great job of showing emotions on the faces of the characters. My one complaint is that since it is entitled Red Rain a judicious use of the color red with the gray scale would have really added that extra pizzazz to the story.

Lee: I have to agree with Jim. This was a really good story and Mike Raicht did a fantastic job with the few pages he was allocated. Raicht wrote a first person narrative from the viewpoint of the head of the Space Mission which really helped to ground the book. He also did a great job of not only instilling the characters with original voices but creating a believable response to the event. The small details such as some of the astronauts being too young to know who the Beatles were and NASA creating action figures of the astronauts to generate revenue really helped set a tone for the story. It became very believable. The art was solid and conveyed the story well. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't Neal Adams or Gil Kane, but Alecia has a good handle on the basics and enough personality that it will be fun to watch her art grow in the coming years.

Uuummm Jim... When the space program was beginning????? Maybe, in your free time, you could post what it was like seeing the Wright Brothers flying for the first time too.

Gwen: Geeze Lee, it's like the pot calling the kettle black - you're both old men!

Anyway, this was my favorite of the two stories. I'm not sure what it was like when the space program was just beginning, but having gone to space camp (twice!) as a kid I'd have to say this story creates a fairly realistic setting. It also reminded me a bit of Fear Agent with the overall feel of the plot. The aliens were excellent and even with only brief introductions you felt as if you got to know the characters. I really enjoyed the art as well - very accessible and nice paneling (especially considering the amount of space to work with). In general just a fun comic book!

The second story was Project Obeah written by Leah Moore and John Reppion, Art Jeremy Dale and Inker Jason Roth.

Jim: Okay first off Scott Closter wrote the introduction for both stories and the first one is straight up why I’m involved in doing this book. The second was just downright amusing.

This story starts with a narrator but he "disappears" after the second page. Overall, this is about an expedition to build and or terraform another planet for human habitation. The story is told well enough, but suffers from having a similar ending to the first story. Since I didn't' know what Obeah meant, I looked it up prior to reading the story. Apparently Obeah deals with West Indies “occult power”, so I was expecting the story to have something to do with that and it did not. Still a solid horror/science fiction tale and very similar to the beginning of a Robert Kirkman story.

Again I’m unfamiliar with the artist but I enjoyed the more fluid nature of Jeremy Dale’s work and believe that Jason Roth added a lot to the final product.

Lee: It's interesting that we read the same story, had the same basic reaction, but managed to "read" different things. I agree the story was told well enough but I felt it suffered from generic ideas instead of similar endings. Actually, I felt the endings of the two stories weren't similar in the least. And, the twist ending is the only thing that saved this story from being pedestrian. Writing a good hook into a 11 page story is an incredibly difficult task. Raicht managed to do it in the first story but Moore/Reppion somehow miss the mark.

The art was good and Dale shows some promise. His style wasn't as distinctive as but handled the story well.

Gwen: This story was a bit more predictable, although still entertaining. Then again, I find it hard to go wrong with zombies in space. In fact, zombies are almost always entertaining. I digress - The story was well paced although I felt that it was hampered by its' length. Still, there were some good ideas and the ending was well done. The art was nice and shows potential to become even better with time. This story worked well in concert with Red Rain.

Jim: Bottom line I have ordered this book and will sign up for future issues. It really has an enjoyable feel to it and definitely is an enjoyable read. If you liked the old time science fiction / horror comics of the fifties and enjoyed the Outer Limits, you should get a kick out of this book.

Lee: I'm really on the fence with this book. I really enjoyed the art because I really like seeing the up and coming artists. I also liked the difference between the styles. Rodriguez went for the Cary Nord pencil look with the gray scale while Dale went for the traditional Derek Robertson, hint of Pander Bros style. Both guys have lots of potential. On the other hand, one story was good while the other was ok. Jim best described the book with the 50's sci-fi feel. Although I might have gone with Twilight Zone which people under 40 have a chance of knowing v. the cult classic Outer Limits, Jim was accurate in the description. Bottom line, this is worth your time investigating.
Gwen: You know... I know what the Outer Limits is too Lee. Actually I think the Outer Limits is a closer comparison than the Twilight zone. Either way, I enjoyed Space Doubles. I liked Red Rain better than Project Obeah, but felt that they worked well together. If you want a break from overly involved and overbearing comics I'd give this book a try. Sometimes it's nice to just out and out have fun reading a comic book.

The diamond order # OCT073781