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Edgeworld #1-5
Edgeworld
An edgy, potent adventure series that’s part science-fiction, part detective series, part western, Edgeworld is a unique blend of energy, comedy and darkness like nothing you’ve ever read.
On the edge of known space, on the backwater, frontier planet of Pala, magistrate Killian Jess, and native Palan Cheela fight to protect a planet, and people, the rest of the galaxy has forgotten. Battling military occupation, alien invasions, otherworldly infestations, drug running, gang violence, black market traders, and the disastrous, ecological aftermath of a brutal, planet-wide war, they must learn to work together and collect any allies they can from the castoffs, misfits, and aliens occupying Pala, in order to save the world they love.
Edgeworld marks the surprise return to comics of Dreamworks television producer Chuck Austen, the X-Men and Superman writer, partnering with his good friend, long-time Marvel/DC artist Patrick Olliffe.
On the edge of known space, on the backwater, frontier planet of Pala, magistrate Killian Jess, and native Palan Cheela fight to protect a planet, and people, the rest of the galaxy has forgotten. Battling military occupation, alien invasions, otherworldly infestations, drug running, gang violence, black market traders, and the disastrous, ecological aftermath of a brutal, planet-wide war, they must learn to work together and collect any allies they can from the castoffs, misfits, and aliens occupying Pala, in order to save the world they love.
Edgeworld marks the surprise return to comics of Dreamworks television producer Chuck Austen, the X-Men and Superman writer, partnering with his good friend, long-time Marvel/DC artist Patrick Olliffe.
144 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2022
74 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Austen
432 books16 followersChuck Austen (born Chuck Beckum) is an American humor novelist, comic book writer and artist, TV writer and animator. In comics, he is known for his work on X-Men, War Machine, Elektra, and Action Comics, and in television, he is known for co-creating the animated TV series Tripping the Rift.
In his most recent prose novels, Chuck Austen has been going by the name Charles Austen.
In his most recent prose novels, Chuck Austen has been going by the name Charles Austen.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 20, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Edgeworld Season One – A Little Chaos In Your Life
by Chuck Austen, Pat Olliffe (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)
“Welcome to Pala: where justice rides a busted hovercraft and hope wears scavenged armor.”
If Firefly and District 9 had a rebellious graphic novel baby, Edgeworld would be it—scrappy, moody, and unapologetically messy in all the right ways. Chuck Austen and team throw readers into a galactic junkyard of forgotten heroes and found families, where frontier law and cosmic chaos collide.
What Makes It Pop
• Genre stew: Sci-fi noir, space western grit, and oddball procedural blend into a tangled, high-stakes tapestry.
• Characters with bite: Magistrate Killian Jess is the kind of antihero you root for even when he’s knee-deep in galactic fallout. Cheela brings native perspective and raw empathy—together, they spark with reluctant camaraderie.
• Stunning visuals: Pat Olliffe’s linework bleeds tension; Loughridge’s palette dances between planetary decay and post-apocalyptic neon. Each panel reads like a high-budget space drama distilled through indie rebellion.
• Themes worth chewing: Colonization, forgotten peoples, survival, and the meaning of justice—all explored without preaching.
Shelf Talk
Pala isn’t just a setting, it’s a character—a forgotten world clinging to meaning in the shadow of galactic indifference. The series doesn’t offer tidy morals but delivers a beautifully tangled narrative that rewards re-reading and unpacking.
Happy reading 🪐📚
by Chuck Austen, Pat Olliffe (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)
“Welcome to Pala: where justice rides a busted hovercraft and hope wears scavenged armor.”
If Firefly and District 9 had a rebellious graphic novel baby, Edgeworld would be it—scrappy, moody, and unapologetically messy in all the right ways. Chuck Austen and team throw readers into a galactic junkyard of forgotten heroes and found families, where frontier law and cosmic chaos collide.
What Makes It Pop
• Genre stew: Sci-fi noir, space western grit, and oddball procedural blend into a tangled, high-stakes tapestry.
• Characters with bite: Magistrate Killian Jess is the kind of antihero you root for even when he’s knee-deep in galactic fallout. Cheela brings native perspective and raw empathy—together, they spark with reluctant camaraderie.
• Stunning visuals: Pat Olliffe’s linework bleeds tension; Loughridge’s palette dances between planetary decay and post-apocalyptic neon. Each panel reads like a high-budget space drama distilled through indie rebellion.
• Themes worth chewing: Colonization, forgotten peoples, survival, and the meaning of justice—all explored without preaching.
Shelf Talk
Pala isn’t just a setting, it’s a character—a forgotten world clinging to meaning in the shadow of galactic indifference. The series doesn’t offer tidy morals but delivers a beautifully tangled narrative that rewards re-reading and unpacking.
Happy reading 🪐📚
July 23, 2024
Picked this up because I am a sucker for sci-fi with an old west flavor, and this definitely looked like it had Firefly vibes. The story opens with a green-skinned humanoid in kind of old-West garb seeking the services of an elderly seer/psychic type. The bulk of the book is what he sees in kind of flashbacky visions of people it's unclear of his relationship to. The story takes place on a classic chaotic border city/town on a backwater planet, where a beefy bearded guy named Killian is a kind of judge/jury/executioner "magistrate" with a badge. The green-skinned folks are the natives, and there are all manner of other humans and aliens out and about. There's the usual places: bar, bordello, jail, town doctor, town coroner, and a separate fort for a corporate army.
The setting has a rich depth and texture to it, and feels fully developed, as do the characters. However, the story can get a little all over the place due to multiple flashbacks within the overarching visions -- I struggled at times to work out the timelines and how everything related. There are two characters in different timelines who are depicted very similarly, which got confusing -- I kept wishing they had different hairstyles or something to help me track them. There are also a lot of story threads packed into a small space -- including a whole menace of sandstorm spiders, a subplot involving the corporation, an orphaned girl, and then finally a kind of pandemic / murder mystery situation. Each is fine, but they kind of tumble into each other rather quickly, and then when you add the flashbacks and framing flashforwards, it gets a little wobbly. But I definitely liked the world and characters and would definitely be interested to see it continue.
The setting has a rich depth and texture to it, and feels fully developed, as do the characters. However, the story can get a little all over the place due to multiple flashbacks within the overarching visions -- I struggled at times to work out the timelines and how everything related. There are two characters in different timelines who are depicted very similarly, which got confusing -- I kept wishing they had different hairstyles or something to help me track them. There are also a lot of story threads packed into a small space -- including a whole menace of sandstorm spiders, a subplot involving the corporation, an orphaned girl, and then finally a kind of pandemic / murder mystery situation. Each is fine, but they kind of tumble into each other rather quickly, and then when you add the flashbacks and framing flashforwards, it gets a little wobbly. But I definitely liked the world and characters and would definitely be interested to see it continue.
July 21, 2024
Ye olde sci-fi western, but with a subtle tone, similar to a Brubaker-Phillips book.
Killian Jess is a magistrate on Pala, an alien world occupied by humans and other aliens. The government cares more about the fact that the planet is located near a wormhole than about the people on it, leaving it a frontier environment.
We get a couple of adventures within a longer arc. There are dust storm which bring monsters with them, and then there is a infestation of parasites which have caused the destruction of all intelligent life on other worlds. But this is mostly about the through story of the characters, how Killian interacts with the natives and other aliens.
The art, plot, and characters are all solid.
Killian Jess is a magistrate on Pala, an alien world occupied by humans and other aliens. The government cares more about the fact that the planet is located near a wormhole than about the people on it, leaving it a frontier environment.
We get a couple of adventures within a longer arc. There are dust storm which bring monsters with them, and then there is a infestation of parasites which have caused the destruction of all intelligent life on other worlds. But this is mostly about the through story of the characters, how Killian interacts with the natives and other aliens.
The art, plot, and characters are all solid.
April 14, 2024
I don't necessarily think of Chuck Austen when I think of thrilling comic book adventures. Here, he proves me wrong. He teams with veteran artist Pat Olliffe to tell a very gritty sci-fi story. Readers are introduced to a world on the outskirts of the universe that is a harsh, brutal world with an interesting protagonist, Killian. I like that while the world is alien to us its also relatable. Olliffe's art is a perfect match to the story. The designs are great and the coloring played well into the changes in timeframe. Overall, a surprisingly good read that I look to reading more of.
July 22, 2024
Edgeworld, vol.1 - A Little Chaos In Your Life, Austen
Excellent space-detective-western. I can’t wait for the next volume. ****
#1 – “Well, it ain’t too late to turn around, ya know!”
#2 – “yeah. I’m Killian Jess, race traitor, murderer of my entire squad, and guy who leaves toilet seats up ..”
#3 – I’m going to get our tickets so we can get off this Goddess-forsaken world.”
#4 – “… Don’t look for what you’re already expecting, then become upset when the FACTS don’t FIT those expectations.”
#5 – “Killiam didn’t believe in coincidence. Remember? And neither do I.”
….
Excellent space-detective-western. I can’t wait for the next volume. ****
#1 – “Well, it ain’t too late to turn around, ya know!”
#2 – “yeah. I’m Killian Jess, race traitor, murderer of my entire squad, and guy who leaves toilet seats up ..”
#3 – I’m going to get our tickets so we can get off this Goddess-forsaken world.”
#4 – “… Don’t look for what you’re already expecting, then become upset when the FACTS don’t FIT those expectations.”
#5 – “Killiam didn’t believe in coincidence. Remember? And neither do I.”
….
May 2, 2021
The first five chapters in one place.
Prime freebie. Suitable for teens and adults.. Good color artwork. Reminds you of Firefly because it is a science fiction western. The story of pala the edgeworld. The edgeworld is a good place to die. Second run coming soon.
Prime freebie. Suitable for teens and adults.. Good color artwork. Reminds you of Firefly because it is a science fiction western. The story of pala the edgeworld. The edgeworld is a good place to die. Second run coming soon.
May 11, 2022
That’s a neat enough story and I really like the worldbuilding… I just wish there was more of it. Even at a volume, there’s a lot of space to explore.
Full review:
https://blog.jverkamp.com/2022/04/19/...
Full review:
https://blog.jverkamp.com/2022/04/19/...
August 31, 2023
Sci-fi\western hybrid? Yes, please!!!
Not much I didn't like other than redundant panels of the heroes looking shocked. Read because of my love of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and I recommend for anyone who also loves the DT series. Four stars because it seems a fair rating.
Not much I didn't like other than redundant panels of the heroes looking shocked. Read because of my love of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and I recommend for anyone who also loves the DT series. Four stars because it seems a fair rating.
September 5, 2024
Knocked Out of the Ballpark
Chuck Austen has created a wonderfully imaginative world in Edgewood. Science fiction at its best with an alien world with Wild West vibes. I cannot wait to read the books in this Comixology original series.
Chuck Austen has created a wonderfully imaginative world in Edgewood. Science fiction at its best with an alien world with Wild West vibes. I cannot wait to read the books in this Comixology original series.
February 4, 2023
I really enjoyed this graphic Novel. Glad Chuck Austen is back writing comic books.
June 21, 2023
3,5 estrelas
Read
December 2, 2023Not a bad read
A little like Defiance and Firefly also a little Judge Dredd like it says. I enjoyed it. Little bit confusing at the beginning.
A little like Defiance and Firefly also a little Judge Dredd like it says. I enjoyed it. Little bit confusing at the beginning.
April 15, 2024
A solid space western with steady art from Pat Oliff. I gotta say, I didn't expect to like something from Chuck Austen after his terrible Marvel and DC comics but this wasn't bad.
July 28, 2025
The Pala World
A fun journey. Cheela is very interesting. EdgeWorld is like a figure of speech for immigration. The world had so many tie-ins for corporate governance it's crazy
A fun journey. Cheela is very interesting. EdgeWorld is like a figure of speech for immigration. The world had so many tie-ins for corporate governance it's crazy
August 5, 2022
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
There is a lot to like here in this nuanced and gritty sci fi tale. Though the artwork is traditional 1980s style, it works here (if feeling a bit dated). Of course, with the success of the Mandalorian, you're going to have a lot of similarities to that series (though this likely predates that) in the form of a Western-style outpost that bridges high tech and low tech and runs amuck with aliens. But there are several tales/perspectives being woven through this and interesting mysteries to solve.Story: When a young alien comes to a mystic for more information on a very famous Edgeworlder, the seer gives him visions: a story of a human named Killian and the unloved outpost on which he is a magistrate (read: sheriff). The outpost is a mixture of aliens and about what we would expect this side of Mos Eisely minus the droids - yet Killian has to keep order, even if it means losing friends. But what is Killian's connection to the alien and the mystic?
The story unfolds as the young alien is given visions of Killian's history; more specifically, as it relates to the young orphan girl he ends up raising (and who is the center of attention for the mystic and the alien). Killian will have to deal with drunks, conspiracies, and military goons as he tries to keep order in his jurisdiction. But under it all is a tragic past that comes to haunt him often.
This is really good storytelling that is clean, easy to understand, has many layers, and is completely engaging. With some graphic novels, I may get bored half way through or get tired of all the dialogue bubbles. But with this book, I was hooked from the beginning and found I never wanted to put it down/see it end.
Most of the stories are vignettes of what Killian is dealing with - little short contained stories that will have a payoff in some way either through this volume or later in the series. Some mysteries crop up here but many more are hinted as as the graphic novel progresses. It is clear that future volumes are coming and we will get more as time progresses.
The artwork is well done. I am greatly reminded of 1980s comics (before the Top Cow digital/soft core porn era began) - very up front, complicated, with a somewhat muted color palette. This is not your flash in the pan style over substance digital coloring extravaganza. Instead, there is a lot going on in each panel that rewards rereads.
If I had one grouse, it is that once again we have the cliche (and love interest) madam with a heart of gold . It does get old (with one in the Mandalorian and Firefly). It feels like a plot crutch in order to give the main character a reason to deal with the underside of society and all its issues.
In all, this is easily a 5-star rating for me. It had me completely invested to the end. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
September 19, 2022
Ok, so we have a space western with a bit of a mystery going on and a smidge of horror, and it's not bad, but I didn't really connect with it either. All the technical stuff is done well - the retro-ish art is great, with lots of detail, and the coloring really sets the mood of the story; the story itself is good, a backwater planet filled with scum, villainy, and crime up the wazoo gets an infection of parasites that may have been intentional - but the execution just didn't pull me in. I don't need characters to be likeable, but I do need to care about the story, and I just... didn't. I did enjoy the conceit of the story being told through a spiritualist's visions, that was a neat trick that worked well for me. Overall, though, meh - I'm not not recommending this, but I'm not recommending it either.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews