Two-in-One Review: Wanderlust Chiseled Comics offers up a different look at some transforming mecha and wartime science-fiction with Wanderlust. Randy: I'm a fan of military science-fiction. I lament the loss of Space: Above and Beyond (flawed though it was) and count Aliens as my favorite of the Alien quartet of films. So I was pretty interested in seeing Wanderlust, a re-release of a science-fiction war story by Bryant Shiu and Brett Weldele. Don: The folks at Chiseled Comics are re-releasing this book, and apparently, after the initial mini-series, running it as an ongoing title. There's certainly plenty of potential for it in the script. Wanderlust #1-2 published by Chiseled Comics written by Bryant Shiu penciller & colored by Brett Weldele inked by Michael Halbleib Don: Humanity has taken to the stars, and it has formed the Interplanetary League, though since it's composed only of humans, the name's something of a misnomer. The league's only enemy is a dictatorship offshoot called the Omega Coalition... at least, it used to be the only enemy. A new, hostile faction has emerged, and it may just be mankind's first contact with a sentient extra-terrestrial species. Randy: What really makes Wanderlust interesting to me is the setting and the thought that Shiu has clearly put into it. The first issue includes a piece on Manifest Destiny, and it's clear that amidst all of the science-fiction trappings, Shiu is also telling a story that has parallels to real-world history. There's a certain sense that the League, despite being the force behind the protagonists, deserves this war in some regards because of their arrogant approach to space. Even the opening sequence, featuring the military forces kidnapping aliens to examine them, speaks of a sort of egocentric view of the universe. I found the setting and the political background to be the most fascinating aspect of Wanderlust. Don: For me, what makes this book interesting, what makes it come to life, is Shui's strong flair for dialogue. He conveys the technical side of military exploration, conquest and battle with seeming ease, and he captures the everyday, colloquial tone of the soldiers without making them seem stupid. This is a dialogue-heavy book, but it reads quite well. Shui doesn't come off as a wordy writer, but one who has an ear for detail and genuine dialogue. Randy: The secret of a comic like this, which features marines and fighter pilots, is in giving us a believable camaraderie between the soldiers and fleshing out a pretty large group in rapid time. Shiu hits and misses in this area, developing a pair of likable protagonists but leaving many of the smaller members of the squadrons undefined. In addition, while I found their playful banter somewhat entertaining, it felt like the kind of banter I'd seen before. The same is true of the technobabble which is unavoidable in this kind of story... it sometimes felt a bit stiff, and slowed the story down a bit. Don: I guess we differ on our opinion of the dialogue a bit then. Shui's scripting stands out as his greatest strength. Mind you, I'm not as devoted a fan to the genre as Randy is. Randy: Brett Weldele seems an odd choice for science-fiction combat, given that his work has served him best on modern day crime stories these days. I did miss some of the detail that I like to see in gadgets and vehicles, and thought the starships looked suitably utilitarian but not terribly exciting, which fit the tone of the story but let down the science-fiction geek in me a little. His work on the characters was as strong as ever, though, and his use of color instead of Zip-a-tone, as well as inks by Michael Hableib, made for some of the cleanest and most beautiful work I've seen from him. I was quite pleased and surprised to see that this book was a color book, a rarity among small press but almost a necessity for the type of grand galaxy-spanning epic Shiu is planning to tell. Don: Again, we disagree. Though I appreciated the characteristic darkness of his pencil work, Weldele's colors here just come off as gaudy. There's no texture or nuance to the colors. Pinks and yellows dominate the book, giving it an inappropriately surreal look. Also, I think a less sketchy, more detailed style works better for sci-fi. Maybe my view is colored by other Weldele efforts I've sampled (Couscous Express, Shotcallerz), but his work has a "street" quality that doesn't quite click for me here. Randy: Full color military science-fiction with a believable political setting, all produced from a self-publisher? Wanderlust is a rarity in more ways than one, and I look forward to seeing it realize its potential. For more information on Wanderlust, visit www.chiseledcomics.com. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.