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Exilium #1-6
Exilium
On the run from a superior force, an advanced alien race settles on Earth, deeply dividing humanity. Unknowingly leading their oppressors to Earth, the planet's new inhabitants struggle to mount an effective defense. Humanity's only hope lies with a mysterious group known as the Exilium!
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2019
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 28, 2020
Another Kickstarter comic; a sci-fi story about how a flotilla of alien ships arrive at Earth, asking for refuge from an enemy that destroyed their homeworld. I liked Alien Nation, and this would seem right up my alley. So did it live up to my expectations?
Unfortunately, no.
After the aliens were granted refuge, the human race split between those who welcomed the Aliens, which are your typical Grey aliens, and those who didn't. After this broke out into conflict, the human/alien coalition won and after not being able to come to any agreement, the anti-alien faction decided to leave Earth to find a new home.
However, the race that wiped out the aliens home, has tracked them to Earth, and laid waste to it, with the resistance of the humans and aliens fighting back from hidden bunkers, but they know their time is running out.
Their last hope is to try to contact the lost fleet of humans to ask for help. However on the journey into deep space, the resistance finds new revelations of both the aliens arrival, the human separatists and the invading force.
While not the most original idea ever, the premise did have some promise, but for me I had problems with the story from early on. The aliens, while looking like your standard Grey aliens don’t act well…very alien. Their dialogue and how they act, doesn’t really differ in anyway from any of the human characters. I have a pet peeve with some science fiction, that the aliens never seem 'alien’ enough. Here it's one of the laziest example of this. Other than the way they look, they don't seem alien at all. The dialogue and the characters seemed considerably basic; while not bad, none of them really stood out, their interactions with each other never really made for good drama. Nothing was good or outstanding, I think 'serviceable' would describe it the best.
The plot and the 'twist', for anyone who's dipped more than a toe into science fiction stories wouldn't really come out of the blue, and even then it became a bit muddled in the way it was telling it.
The characters are pretty much stock characters from any average sci-fi story; the jokey one, the tough one, the serious one. With only a few of the characters having only a limited backstory, none of the characters have any real depth and don't grow throughout the entire book. While not awful characters, they are just bland and pretty forgettable.
The art varies between being good, adequate and a bit poor. The characters for the most part are well drawn and the settings, but there are times when the quality drops, sometimes considerably. The book has quite a few action scenes, but here I found the art lacked any real punch; it seemed one dimensional and didn't really excite; which for me really acted as a big negative for me in this book.
Overall, I’d say it's negatives slightly outweigh it's few positives which in themselves are pretty weak. While not terrible, the plot flitted between decent, if well-travelled science fiction to dull sections, muddled parts and art that can be good, dull, and bad in the space of a few panels. While for my Kickstarter I got a nice big book, if I continued with the series, I would be more likely just to get the digital copy and that's if I want to carry on. Slightly disappointed that I didn't like this more, but too much niggled at me that I couldn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. Perhaps others would like it more.
Unfortunately, no.
After the aliens were granted refuge, the human race split between those who welcomed the Aliens, which are your typical Grey aliens, and those who didn't. After this broke out into conflict, the human/alien coalition won and after not being able to come to any agreement, the anti-alien faction decided to leave Earth to find a new home.
However, the race that wiped out the aliens home, has tracked them to Earth, and laid waste to it, with the resistance of the humans and aliens fighting back from hidden bunkers, but they know their time is running out.
Their last hope is to try to contact the lost fleet of humans to ask for help. However on the journey into deep space, the resistance finds new revelations of both the aliens arrival, the human separatists and the invading force.
While not the most original idea ever, the premise did have some promise, but for me I had problems with the story from early on. The aliens, while looking like your standard Grey aliens don’t act well…very alien. Their dialogue and how they act, doesn’t really differ in anyway from any of the human characters. I have a pet peeve with some science fiction, that the aliens never seem 'alien’ enough. Here it's one of the laziest example of this. Other than the way they look, they don't seem alien at all. The dialogue and the characters seemed considerably basic; while not bad, none of them really stood out, their interactions with each other never really made for good drama. Nothing was good or outstanding, I think 'serviceable' would describe it the best.
The plot and the 'twist', for anyone who's dipped more than a toe into science fiction stories wouldn't really come out of the blue, and even then it became a bit muddled in the way it was telling it.
The characters are pretty much stock characters from any average sci-fi story; the jokey one, the tough one, the serious one. With only a few of the characters having only a limited backstory, none of the characters have any real depth and don't grow throughout the entire book. While not awful characters, they are just bland and pretty forgettable.
The art varies between being good, adequate and a bit poor. The characters for the most part are well drawn and the settings, but there are times when the quality drops, sometimes considerably. The book has quite a few action scenes, but here I found the art lacked any real punch; it seemed one dimensional and didn't really excite; which for me really acted as a big negative for me in this book.
Overall, I’d say it's negatives slightly outweigh it's few positives which in themselves are pretty weak. While not terrible, the plot flitted between decent, if well-travelled science fiction to dull sections, muddled parts and art that can be good, dull, and bad in the space of a few panels. While for my Kickstarter I got a nice big book, if I continued with the series, I would be more likely just to get the digital copy and that's if I want to carry on. Slightly disappointed that I didn't like this more, but too much niggled at me that I couldn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. Perhaps others would like it more.
March 27, 2022
Nia, Ken and Tr'u are part of the United Earth Resistance defending the planet from alien invaders. Nia and Ken are human, Tr'u is an alien, his people (classic 'greys' from UFO lore: short, big head, big eyes) having come to Earth decades earlier as refugees, fleeing the same enemy that is now threatening their new home.
Things are not looking good for the Resistance; the world is under siege and defeat seems imminent. Earth needs allies against the invaders and the only ones they can turn to for help are the Exilium ('exiled') - xenophobic humans who chose to leave Earth rather than share it with Tr'u's race. Can the 'prodigal sons' be persuaded to return to the fold and fight the good fight?
Writer Ben Slabak and artist Salomon Farias' Exilium is action-packed from page one, filled with battles both on the ground and out in space, and the fantastic visuals do not disappoint. This is balanced with some rich narrative elements: Nia and Tr'u's childhood memories, literary references and moments of introspection.
As the story unfolds several questions arise: Who are these mysterious invaders? Apparently humanoid automatons, they seem determined to exterminate humanity. When Nia makes contact with the Exilium she learns that her long-lost cousins have a very different version of the events that led to their exodus. As her new companion alludes: history is written by the victors... so which version is the truth?
The narrative is well-paced with each little mystery and revelation popping up at just the right moment to keep the reader guessing. Our heroes find themselves confronted with clues that all is not as it would seem.
Maybe the truth help them win the war...
But what if the truth is too hard to face?
Things are not looking good for the Resistance; the world is under siege and defeat seems imminent. Earth needs allies against the invaders and the only ones they can turn to for help are the Exilium ('exiled') - xenophobic humans who chose to leave Earth rather than share it with Tr'u's race. Can the 'prodigal sons' be persuaded to return to the fold and fight the good fight?
Writer Ben Slabak and artist Salomon Farias' Exilium is action-packed from page one, filled with battles both on the ground and out in space, and the fantastic visuals do not disappoint. This is balanced with some rich narrative elements: Nia and Tr'u's childhood memories, literary references and moments of introspection.
As the story unfolds several questions arise: Who are these mysterious invaders? Apparently humanoid automatons, they seem determined to exterminate humanity. When Nia makes contact with the Exilium she learns that her long-lost cousins have a very different version of the events that led to their exodus. As her new companion alludes: history is written by the victors... so which version is the truth?
The narrative is well-paced with each little mystery and revelation popping up at just the right moment to keep the reader guessing. Our heroes find themselves confronted with clues that all is not as it would seem.
Maybe the truth help them win the war...
But what if the truth is too hard to face?
April 11, 2020
I liked it.
A sci-fi graphic novel, with aliens, spaceships and space battles. All in all it reminded me of two works of fiction the Alien Nation movie and Liu Cixin’s Three-Body-Problem trilogy.
You do have to read it, this isn’t a graphic novel that visuals the alone carry to the story and the simply colour it, the text really has to be read for the story to be comprehended. And some of the lettering is quite tiny. The art I love and hate. The artist clearly has no problem with perspective but to me the faces feel at little off. But it is a very pretty book.
The pacing is very good though. We get character introductions before we get much in the way of exposition and the story that is complete and satisfying.
A sci-fi graphic novel, with aliens, spaceships and space battles. All in all it reminded me of two works of fiction the Alien Nation movie and Liu Cixin’s Three-Body-Problem trilogy.
You do have to read it, this isn’t a graphic novel that visuals the alone carry to the story and the simply colour it, the text really has to be read for the story to be comprehended. And some of the lettering is quite tiny. The art I love and hate. The artist clearly has no problem with perspective but to me the faces feel at little off. But it is a very pretty book.
The pacing is very good though. We get character introductions before we get much in the way of exposition and the story that is complete and satisfying.
February 12, 2022
Excellent homegrown space opera action.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews