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Space Boy #23
Stephen McCranie's Space Boy Volume 23
“There comes a time when you must close your petals, lock the door, and hide yourself away from the world.”
Overwhelmed with emotions after hearing Dr. Kim’s tragic story, Amy desperately seeks solitude.
When an unexpected source lends Amy a hand, she discovers another member of the FCP who may be more than meets the eye. Oliver hurtles ever closer to the Artifact, while the detection of an unusual signal causes a stir. Meanwhile, Director Langley ramps up his search for the elusive mole.
Challenge your beliefs and explore what it means to belong in Volume 23 of Stephen McCranie’s Space Boy.
Overwhelmed with emotions after hearing Dr. Kim’s tragic story, Amy desperately seeks solitude.
When an unexpected source lends Amy a hand, she discovers another member of the FCP who may be more than meets the eye. Oliver hurtles ever closer to the Artifact, while the detection of an unusual signal causes a stir. Meanwhile, Director Langley ramps up his search for the elusive mole.
Challenge your beliefs and explore what it means to belong in Volume 23 of Stephen McCranie’s Space Boy.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2026
About the author
Stephen McCranie
46 books358 followersStephen McCranie has been drawing comics since before he could read or write. He graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Fine Arts and currently lives and works out of a small apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 1, 2026
Continues to be a super fun series I’m glad I started collecting. I own six volumes now, and I hope to collect them all eventually!
Space Boy really is a special series — a fun story with deep plot lines, beautiful and colorful art, and some incredibly rich themes of life, struggle, relationships, and purpose. I have read that some people struggle with the pacing, even those who love the series, but for me, I think it fits very well. The volumes may not always advance the main plot a ton, but hearts, minds, and character depth are peeled away layer by layer, and you get to know the characters so richly.
Looking forward to the next release in the coming months, LORD willing.
Space Boy really is a special series — a fun story with deep plot lines, beautiful and colorful art, and some incredibly rich themes of life, struggle, relationships, and purpose. I have read that some people struggle with the pacing, even those who love the series, but for me, I think it fits very well. The volumes may not always advance the main plot a ton, but hearts, minds, and character depth are peeled away layer by layer, and you get to know the characters so richly.
Looking forward to the next release in the coming months, LORD willing.
March 11, 2026
RELEASE ME
May 16, 2026
Sooooooooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooooooooooooooooood!
July 17, 2026
Whoa. Did Silber just become my fave character? 🤯
May 4, 2026
I need to feel as though Space Boy is coming to an end soon. McCranie seems to be playing it out; while I'm convinced that there IS a destination for this story (and that the author knows how that works out), I'm not as sure I'll live to see Space Boy's conclusion. I'm mainly being glib... mainly.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)
-- 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 where necessary --
In Volume 22 of SPACE BOY, Dr. Kim recounted in painful detail the origins of his relationship and falling out with Oliver. Here, McCranie wraps up that story ARC and brings the focus back onto the First Contact Project - particularly Amy, who's beginning to buckle under the weight of bearing everyone's burdens, and Langley, who's already being driven mad by Sophie Brix's pranks and now suspects a mole (oops!). In order to suss out the traitor, Langley enlists the help of James Silber, the only one at the FCP - other than Amy - who hasn't been brainwashed by the Wanderer. Luckily, the up-until-now unlikable Silber is running his own covert op, working to undermine Langley - and the Wanderer - from the inside.
One of the things I loved about this story ARC is the focus on Amy - and Silber's - synthesia/"essence reading", as it becomes a key tool in Langley's quest to root out the mole. The artwork is lovely and of course it's fun to see Langley insulted by multiple subordinates. Also, we're treated to an intriguing discovery about the Artifact, as Oliver's ship picks up a mysterious signal, and we learn the details of Langley and Silber's respective pacts with the Wanderer. There's also threat of a mutiny as Oliver reaches the end of his quest - what will happen to the science team once the project has wrapped up?
Last but not least, bravo on the baby chicks throwback (although I still contend that animal agriculture is downright silly in this 'verse).
====================
Here's a breakdown of the episodes contained in each TPB. Sometimes I borrow the books from the library, other times I receive early electronic review copies online - and to bridge the gaps in between, I read the strips on Webtoons. Forever and always do I tear my hair out trying to figure out which strips I missed in between the collected volumes.
Volume 01 - episodes 1-16
Volume 02 - episodes 17-32
Volume 03 - episodes 33-48
Volume 04 - episodes 49-60
Volume 05 - episodes 61-75 (I think)
Volume 06 - episodes 76-92
Volume 07 - episodes 95-110
Volume 08 - episodes 111-126
Volume 09 - episodes 127-143
Volume 10 - episodes 144-159
Volume 11 - episodes 160-175
Volume 12 - episodes 176-195
Volume 13 - episodes 196-210
Volume 14 - episodes 211–223 and 225–226
Volume 15 - episodes 227-240
Volume 16 - episodes 241-256
Volume 17 - episodes 257-272
Volume 18 - episodes 273-286
Volume 19 - episodes 287-300
Volume 20 - episodes 301-315
Volume 21 - episodes 316-330
Volume 22 - episodes 331-344
Volume 23 - episodes 345-364
-- 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 where necessary --
In Volume 22 of SPACE BOY, Dr. Kim recounted in painful detail the origins of his relationship and falling out with Oliver. Here, McCranie wraps up that story ARC and brings the focus back onto the First Contact Project - particularly Amy, who's beginning to buckle under the weight of bearing everyone's burdens, and Langley, who's already being driven mad by Sophie Brix's pranks and now suspects a mole (oops!). In order to suss out the traitor, Langley enlists the help of James Silber, the only one at the FCP - other than Amy - who hasn't been brainwashed by the Wanderer. Luckily, the up-until-now unlikable Silber is running his own covert op, working to undermine Langley - and the Wanderer - from the inside.
One of the things I loved about this story ARC is the focus on Amy - and Silber's - synthesia/"essence reading", as it becomes a key tool in Langley's quest to root out the mole. The artwork is lovely and of course it's fun to see Langley insulted by multiple subordinates. Also, we're treated to an intriguing discovery about the Artifact, as Oliver's ship picks up a mysterious signal, and we learn the details of Langley and Silber's respective pacts with the Wanderer. There's also threat of a mutiny as Oliver reaches the end of his quest - what will happen to the science team once the project has wrapped up?
Last but not least, bravo on the baby chicks throwback (although I still contend that animal agriculture is downright silly in this 'verse).
====================
Here's a breakdown of the episodes contained in each TPB. Sometimes I borrow the books from the library, other times I receive early electronic review copies online - and to bridge the gaps in between, I read the strips on Webtoons. Forever and always do I tear my hair out trying to figure out which strips I missed in between the collected volumes.
Volume 01 - episodes 1-16
Volume 02 - episodes 17-32
Volume 03 - episodes 33-48
Volume 04 - episodes 49-60
Volume 05 - episodes 61-75 (I think)
Volume 06 - episodes 76-92
Volume 07 - episodes 95-110
Volume 08 - episodes 111-126
Volume 09 - episodes 127-143
Volume 10 - episodes 144-159
Volume 11 - episodes 160-175
Volume 12 - episodes 176-195
Volume 13 - episodes 196-210
Volume 14 - episodes 211–223 and 225–226
Volume 15 - episodes 227-240
Volume 16 - episodes 241-256
Volume 17 - episodes 257-272
Volume 18 - episodes 273-286
Volume 19 - episodes 287-300
Volume 20 - episodes 301-315
Volume 21 - episodes 316-330
Volume 22 - episodes 331-344
Volume 23 - episodes 345-364
Read
June 28, 2026AMY NO
Amy, baby, you don't have to fix everyone all the time. You have to take care of yourSELF also. girlie please learn this
Also honey just sitting and listening is often more than enough. u don't have to give Dr. Kim the perfect words for comfort. u already listened to his trauma dump. that's more than enough. silent companionship with a suffering person is powerful too.
I'm so glad she went and took a nap. Poor kid needed it
Fascinating how glasses r u used in this story. And if u can see thru them or not. It's neat
keep thinking about oliver. how he doesn’t want there to be purpose in the universe cuz that means his purpose is to suffer. poor boy.
but that was a flashback, does he still think this? I don’t remember. This story be movin at a GLACIAL pace
silber's actually kinda cute when he's smiling and his eyes are visible and if u ignore the weird crescent moon in his hair
the world(s) beyond worlds... sounds kinda mormon...
I think I've resigned myself to the very slow pace of this. The first couple volumes were super neat and banger and then he's just kinda wandered around for a decade. That made me upset cuz it was so banger at the start but I've accepted it. This story will not be as good as I thought it would be when I started, but it is what it is. Oh well. I've been reading it for this long. Might as well keep going. Sigh.
Amy, baby, you don't have to fix everyone all the time. You have to take care of yourSELF also. girlie please learn this
Also honey just sitting and listening is often more than enough. u don't have to give Dr. Kim the perfect words for comfort. u already listened to his trauma dump. that's more than enough. silent companionship with a suffering person is powerful too.
I'm so glad she went and took a nap. Poor kid needed it
Fascinating how glasses r u used in this story. And if u can see thru them or not. It's neat
keep thinking about oliver. how he doesn’t want there to be purpose in the universe cuz that means his purpose is to suffer. poor boy.
but that was a flashback, does he still think this? I don’t remember. This story be movin at a GLACIAL pace
silber's actually kinda cute when he's smiling and his eyes are visible and if u ignore the weird crescent moon in his hair
the world(s) beyond worlds... sounds kinda mormon...
I think I've resigned myself to the very slow pace of this. The first couple volumes were super neat and banger and then he's just kinda wandered around for a decade. That made me upset cuz it was so banger at the start but I've accepted it. This story will not be as good as I thought it would be when I started, but it is what it is. Oh well. I've been reading it for this long. Might as well keep going. Sigh.
August 7, 2026
Amy starts to get overwhelmed by all the people in need of help and encouragement at the FCP. The team monitoring Oliver's ship's progress realizes the Artifact is broadcasting a message. Director Langley decides to interrogate the security team about a potential mole. Sherman and his contact get a break in their investigation. We learn that Silber has a plan of his own regarding the FCP future, and Sophi Brix decides to start making moves.
Oh man, things are starting to get very intense! It feels like we're heading for the climax as multiple groups are starting to make final moves, we learn just how many people FCP has "disappeared" and who are longing to be reunited with loved ones, and Oliver gets very close to reaching the Artifact. Poor Amy is overwhelmed in this one and needing the support she so frequently supplies to others. I can't figure out if Silber is friend or foe, and book 24 can't come fast enough.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: None
Ethnic diversity: Cultures are more blended in this future world. Qiana appears to have some Asian heritage as does Dr. Kim, Sophi Brix is Black, and others have varying shades of skin.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Mental strain of those who provide support to others and/or are separated from loved ones.
Oh man, things are starting to get very intense! It feels like we're heading for the climax as multiple groups are starting to make final moves, we learn just how many people FCP has "disappeared" and who are longing to be reunited with loved ones, and Oliver gets very close to reaching the Artifact. Poor Amy is overwhelmed in this one and needing the support she so frequently supplies to others. I can't figure out if Silber is friend or foe, and book 24 can't come fast enough.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: None
Ethnic diversity: Cultures are more blended in this future world. Qiana appears to have some Asian heritage as does Dr. Kim, Sophi Brix is Black, and others have varying shades of skin.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Mental strain of those who provide support to others and/or are separated from loved ones.
May 12, 2026
As Julia and her team discover a signal coming from the Artifact, Amy reluctantly asks Silber for help after she finds her emotions in disarray, and eagerly takes a chance to close herself off from the world - unaware that Director Langley is about to take his search for the FCP mole up a notch. McCranie will have readers in suspense with this intriguing entry, its art and emotional resonance continually vivid.
November 29, 2025
Thank you to the publisher for this free eARC! All opinions are my own.
Amy is overwhelmed by Dr. Kim's story. Silber unexpectedly gives Amy a safe haven. The Director interrogates his security team, including Amy, because he believes one of them is a mole. #Edelweiss+
Amy is overwhelmed by Dr. Kim's story. Silber unexpectedly gives Amy a safe haven. The Director interrogates his security team, including Amy, because he believes one of them is a mole. #Edelweiss+
April 5, 2026
Picking up speed again, at long last!
July 10, 2026
More like 4.5 for this one. Somewhere, I read that this was supposed to be the final book in the series, but there is at least one more to go.
March 2, 2026
This series is severely underrated, incredibly well-written, and worth all the stars.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews