Monday, April 26, 2021

Black Science by Rick Remender & Matteo Scalera

Back in the day...November 27, 2013, to be specific...I bought the first issue of Black Science courtesy of Image Comics and The Great Escape. I liked it enough to come back and buy the second issue on December 18, 2013. And I liked that enough to come back on January 29, 2014, for issue three. But then I called it a day. Not because I was unhappy with it...just because it cost $3.50 a pop, and to me, that was a bit too pricey. (Of course, now comics are $3.99 to $4.99 per issue, so there's that.) Also, although I liked the art (by Matteo Scalera) quite a bit, it was kind of odd...and, to be honest, a little hard to follow at times. So I moved on.

But I was checking to see what e-comics were available at the Louisville Free Public Library the other day, and lo and behold, all 9 collected volumes of Black Science...comprising the complete 43 issue run...was available. 

So I got the first volume. 

Read it. 

It was pretty good. 

I went back and got the second and third volumes.

In the second volume, there was a little plot twist (no spoilers here, don't worry) and a character unexpectedly says this:


And I had to stop for a moment and let that percolate in my brain. The ability to keep a promise is the definition of one's worth. Yeah, that works for me. My father used to have a more prosaic (not to mention a more scatological) version of this statement: "A man who's not worth his word isn't worth shit." 

And after all...what is a person who doesn't keep his / her word? 

At best, a person who promises what they can't deliver. 

At worst, a person who lies, manipulates, and has no honor. 

I have to admit that I tend to think it's the latter in most cases.

Where does that leave us today? Well...I see a lot of promises that are not kept. I see a lot of promises that are broken. A lot of hot air sending a lot of empty balloons up where the air is clear.

A lot of people who aren't worth a whole hell of a lot.

Yeah, that is harsh, Dad. 

So is fucking people over because it's not convenient to keep your word, though.

Well.

That's pretty heavy thinking to come out of reading a science fiction comic book, ennit?

Pardonne-moi...going to go read some more Black Science



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