Spacetrawler: Fallen to Madness

Spacetrawler #3

by Christopher Baldwin

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Webcomic, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Livejournal here: http://unrendered.livejournal.com/

Reviews

[The other John · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the third collection of Spacetrawler a band of liberated eebs are running amuck, seeking revenge against the galaxy that enslaved them by torching entire planets with their powerful telekinesis. The six humans who were instrumental in freeing the eebs are faced with the choice of hiding out or trying to stop the genocidal rampage. Of course, with these humans, neither choice will go as planned...

[Meran · Rating 5 out of 5]

These just got better and better!
Highly recommended!

[Mikael · Rating 5 out of 5]

We knew how it would end but it's still sad.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so we come to the end(?)* of Spacetrawler. I'm left with conflicted feelings. On the one hand, what a delightful and slightly macabre romp through space, with the awesome message that humankind is one of the most messed up species in the galaxy and yet we're still trying, damn it. And while the humans did manage to "save the day," they did it at a staggering cost, and every one of them (even Dustin in his own messed-up way) acknowledged that, which I appreciated.

And yet . . . well, first off, as others have pointed out, the series' relentless heterosexuality was a constant struggle to deal with. To have every alien species they encountered 1) have only 2 sexes; and 2) be hetero about it spoke much more strongly of Baldwin's biases than of any plausible reality of the cosmos, and it was almost insulting to every non-straight person. Ever.

I also felt like Baldwin tried to cram too much into this volume in order to make it the last one. It was like he had too much material for 3 books but not enough for 4, so he smashed everything into volume 3 in a way that left me overloaded and undersatisfied with several aspects of the resolution.

As for the epilogue . . . well, as with a certain other series, whose main character's name might rhyme with Fairy Blotter, I'm going to pretend that Spacetrawler's epilogue doesn't exist.


*I feel like Baldwin left himself a lot of openings to return to this universe if the mood ever strikes him.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick thoughts: Strong end to the main comic. So depressing in some ways, but a great story overall from start to finish. There were a ton of cliches and standards of the genre that Baldwin turned on their head, and even more that he totally avoided. Just mind blowing, shocking storytelling and a fitting end to an epic journey.

The epilogue/side story was a solid little mystery and it was nice to visit the universe and its characters again.

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, a great bittersweet ending to an amazing Webcomic. I loved it!