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Review: UFOlogy #1

By Andy Frisk
April 12, 2015 - 20:54

Little Green Men have been with us since the 1950s or so, and have been played out to death. From cute little stretched neck, bug eyed alien of E.T. The Extraterrestrial to The X-Files' vicious black oil spawned, razor sharp teethed and clawed colonizers we've pretty much seen it all by now. With UFOlogy from BOOM! Studios though, Tynion IV crafts a tale of little green...somethings...from space that just might be the freshest look at the whole sci-fi alien genre in years. Oh, and this being Tynion IV, there's plenty of great characters and background story explored along the way as well.

What's Happening: Becky just wants to be left alone to decide her own post high school future. The only problem is that everyone from her teachers to her parents are pulling her in directions that she just doesn't really seem interested in going in. She's a typical high school teen who feels she's ready to take on the world, only to discover, like pretty much all of us do at that age, the world has seen the likes of us before. This time it's not the world that puts Becky to the test, but rather something really (and seriously) out of this world that does.

The Writing: Tyion IV (with co-writer Yuenkal) does an excellent job of setting up this 6 issue miniseries with excellently developed characters who we really are interested in due to their development. How many times have we seen the story of the mopey, intellectual teen and her little, over active imagination brother, on the cusp of adulthood, along with all the loops it throws you once you've arrived at it? Plenty. How many times have we seen a truly interesting take on this metaphor with the type of sci-fi twist that we see here? Pretty much never. Of course,  the alien reveal (more like tease) at the end of issue #1 would be fruitless if not for the Tynion IV's great authorial knack for developing his characters as well as he so often has and does.

The Art: Matthew Fox creates the perfect Midwest/midwinter atmosphere with his semi-underground, and somewhat sketchy and uncomplicated, looking art. Fox's facial expressions are excellently rendered, and the whole work has a unique kinetic feel to it that runs contrary to the atmosphere that the solitary and silent snow covered plains of Mukawgee, Wisconsin evoke. When the story finally gets down to the sci-fi happenings, Fox's work really begins to stand out powerfully and imaginatively.

The Verdict: An interesting take on the little green men story that doubles as a metaphor for a coming of age story. Overall, interesting enough to warrant further reading. I'll be looking forward to issue #2.  

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12