Fear Agent: The Last Goodbye #1

Dark Horse Comics

Story: Rick Remender

Pencils: Tony Moore

Inks: Ande Parks

How the average democrat sees Texas.

It’s the most depressing story opening massacre to take place on a farm since the first episode of Capitol Critters.

The Obligatory Warning: firebombing, piles of dead bodies, other staples of generic violence.

In Fear Agent: The Last Goodbye, hero Heath Huston has a big, gooey flashback to the event that forced him into space. He recalls the battle between two alien races that claimed two family members and ripped Earth apart. ‘Twas a violent, reckless mess, apparently, all sound and fury and such, full of your commonplace war story clichés. Depressing, really, since Fear Agent is usually a fun ride unashamed to admit it’s cliché elements with a wink and a nod, then barrel gleefully ahead with the story. Not everyone can write tragedy, however, and there’s nothing special to make the story stand out.

Tony Moore’s pencils are another matter. His contribution, thus far, is what holds up Last Goodbye. His moonscapes are as evocative as his Texan countryside, and his characters emote believably and unaffectedly. He opens the story with a startling image of a mass grave on a Moon ridge, flanked by twin American and Texan flags, overlooking Earth in the distance. The picture’s less than half a page, but it does more than many a lesser artist’s two-page spreads.

Worth the money? Check out a different back issue of the series first.