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Critical Error
Originally printed (but only in black and white!) in The Art of John Byrne, this early gem is told entirely in pictures. A spaceman crashes on a remote world and discovers its wonderful secret, only to be faced with a fateful dilemma... Beautiful Byrne art, available in color for the first time.
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About the author
John Byrne
3,024 books373 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 5, 2022
Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: C+; Thanks for the view
Obligatory warning for gratuitous nudity & objectification
There nothing deep to say about John Byrne's Critical Error; this thing is wish fulfilment, and satisfies the same fantasy as when you watch something like Blue Lagoon.
A rugged, shaggy, space trucker-esque astronaut, sole survivor of his Ship's crash, while searching for safety comes across a artificial Biosphere. Inside, he finds clean air, water, food, a veritable garden of Eden, replete with its whole doe eyed infantile & statuesque Eve, one who is (obviously) enamored by him. I mean, that's basically like every guy's ultimate fantasy, being alone in a oasis which an alluring partner, right guys....(Looks around)…Guys?
Well, Things progress, much as you'd expect it to, with a decent twist towards the end.
The whole thing is some manner of allegory of how Adam lost the veritable paradise which was the Garden of Eden, due to ignorance; but in SPAAACE!
Other than the vintage, yet crisp art style, the one other thing of note about this comic, is the fact that the whole story, short as it is, is without any dialogue. And the visual storytelling is done well, with intent being properly conveyed, with no so words.
So, sometimes you don't need to educate the readers, or change the world. Sometimes you just need your comic to serve as a healthy dose of wish fulfillment, and it works in that regard.
Obligatory warning for gratuitous nudity & objectification
There nothing deep to say about John Byrne's Critical Error; this thing is wish fulfilment, and satisfies the same fantasy as when you watch something like Blue Lagoon.
A rugged, shaggy, space trucker-esque astronaut, sole survivor of his Ship's crash, while searching for safety comes across a artificial Biosphere. Inside, he finds clean air, water, food, a veritable garden of Eden, replete with its whole doe eyed infantile & statuesque Eve, one who is (obviously) enamored by him. I mean, that's basically like every guy's ultimate fantasy, being alone in a oasis which an alluring partner, right guys....(Looks around)…Guys?
Well, Things progress, much as you'd expect it to, with a decent twist towards the end.
The whole thing is some manner of allegory of how Adam lost the veritable paradise which was the Garden of Eden, due to ignorance; but in SPAAACE!
Other than the vintage, yet crisp art style, the one other thing of note about this comic, is the fact that the whole story, short as it is, is without any dialogue. And the visual storytelling is done well, with intent being properly conveyed, with no so words.
So, sometimes you don't need to educate the readers, or change the world. Sometimes you just need your comic to serve as a healthy dose of wish fulfillment, and it works in that regard.
August 31, 2020
Inspired by a still photograph from the movie “Alien” that he saw in an issue of the European adults-only sci-fi comics magazine “Heavy Metal” (“Metal Hurlant” in its native tongue), Marvel maestro John Byrne’s first foray into “self-published” work (through Dark Horse Comics, curiously) is precisely what you’d expect from a legendary mainstream superhero cartoonist riffing on a Hollywood classic. There are exotic alien vistas, chunky intergalactic gear, plenty of gratuitous toplessness, and an ominous robotic antagonist. In lush, wordless panels, Byrne crafts a simplistic yet enticing story about a gruff astronaut exploring a hostile new planet, only to discover an oasis beyond his wildest dreams; it’s nothing a comics or sci-fi fan would find particularly new but, with Byrne’s flair, it actually feels pretty fresh. “Critical Error” is an oldie but a goodie, a bit of a lost gem from a very different era in comics history.
June 7, 2024
I read this when it was published in "The Art of John Byrne" back in the day. Originally it was all black and white, and Byrne's art was all the rage during the X-Men era. The details are superb, as always. Spaceships and props and the garden of Eden style local, are all a visual feast, and are an exotic backdrop for the sexy story. I never understood the ending, so I won't say much about it. If you love comics and film, and love sci-fi, you will enjoy Byrne's rendition of a lost astronaut who meets a a dream-like lover.
February 18, 2020
Fun little dialogue free comic.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews