Crossgen deserves a lot of credit for branching into new genres with its mainstream, full-color approach. Fantasy is of course the genre they've tackled a lot of, but there are also titles that include 1950s horror and Victorian mystery, not to mention a touch of post-apocalyptic science-fiction with Crux. So it's good to see them opening another door, this time into science-fiction, with Marz and Peterson's Chimera, an intriguing and lavishly illustrated take on military science-fiction with an epic flavor. This issue introduces our lead characters, a couple big questions and the world in fine style, and in terms of artwork the only thing I can think to compare it to is The Red Star, not just because of the inclusion of computer-assisted elements but because of how impressive the artwork is overall.
I'm a sucker for big science-fiction epics that blend the idea of alien technology and ancient secrets, such as Babylon 5 or The Fifth Element. Chimera reminds me of that kind of story, with an approach that wouldn't be out of place in Robert Heinlein's somewhat fascistic universe or the oppressive reality of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 game series. The overall structure of this universe is a mind-numbingly huge galactic empire, which is of course corrupt and run by a near-immortal emperor who comes from a family that does not give up or share power easily. It's a great structure against which to set the smaller story of a young woman and man who seem destined for a big part in the overall tale.
The interaction between Sara and Jason is a little by-the-numbers, the typical cocky male and no-nonsense female who wants nothing to do with him, but I can forgive familiarity when the characters are likable. Both have reasons for their behavior, whether it's Jason's mysterious connections or Sara's secrets both past and present, and the two of them do have some solid chemistry. I'm curious as to whether it truly is Jason who has set off the alarms, or whether it's a mix-up with Sara, but the important part is that I'm curious, that I want to know what these characters have gotten themselves into.
Of course, I wouldn't be anywhere near as interested if I hadn't been drawn into this book visually. This is the sort of art that invites hyperbole, full of lush paintings and computer-assisted background elements and color. Crossgen is known for their high-quality coloring job, so it says a lot that Peterson's choice to do all the art chores on this book, from blank page to fully colored finished page, makes absolute sense when you look at this. The multi-layered, enormous size of the ice-mining operation, the beautiful designs on the uniforms and the technology, the sheer size of the ice planet or the galactic capital all come to life in Peterson's art. I had really thought that at Crossgen, nobody could touch Greg Land in the best artist category, but Peterson has proven himself a real contender with this issue.
With a four-issue structure that encourages tight plotting and artwork that just blew me away, Chimera is a pretty impressive first issue. I'd be happier if that damn sigil was nowhere to be found, or at least it if didn't seem to yet again be a central part of the plot, but that central idea actually doesn't interfere much at this point with the sense of scale that is important in making Chimera work.
