Most self-publishers go through a pretty hefty learning curve, and while the early stuff can be impressive, it's rarely great off the bat. Sean Wang isn't a complete newbie to comics, having worked on The Tick, and he seems to have worked out any rough edges he might have had there so that Runners: Bad Goods, his first self-published work, is a home run right from the start. Fantastic artwork, an imaginative space opera setting and some of the best action I've read in comics this year, all tied to a great cast of characters, makes Runners a treat. Even better, it's a well-done space adventure comic, which is a genre that almost no one is tackling these days. If you're a Star Wars or Star Trek fan jonesing for some more space adventure now that those franchises are taking a rest, or if you're a Serenity fan counting the days until the release of the movie, Runners: Bad Goods might fill that need for spacefaring adventure.
Runners: Bad Goods is like a master class in how to do adventure fiction well. It's clear in reading the book and looking through the terrific sketchbook section of the trade that Wang has a universe fleshed out in his head, full of alien civilizations, crime lords, codes of law and all that other stuff, but he never packs the story full of unnecessary detail in trying to give that sense. Instead, we learn what we need to know about the nature of "running" as an occupation, about the history of Roka and his crew (old and new), about the nature of spaceships and space cities and one of the civilizations that runs a city, all the contextual stuff that's important, with a pervasive sense that if you were able to turn another corner, Wang would be ready for you with more information and characters and beautiful-looking architecture and ships.
This book has some memorable characters and a strong plot, but it really is at its best when Wang is focusing on the action. There are any number of inventive and memorable action sequences to be found in this trade. The opening gun battle between Roka's crew and Hamron the Handsome's crew gets to show off Cember's roguish sense of fun and skill with guns, the battle in space with the rogues features an inventive use of escape pods and the extended run and gun through the city as the Runners try to escape both Hamron and law enforcement is just spectacular. Wang's characters are thinking action heroes, making use not just of their impressive physical skills but of clever ploys to get out of the many jams that they find themselves in.
While the action is great in part because Wang comes up with clever and unusual twists to the action sequence, one shouldn't underestimate the strength of his storytelling and art skills. The action sequences are fast-paced and larger than life, and I love that Wang makes use of sound effects to really sell the illusion of movement and action on these pages. In addition, Wang's detailed designs of ships and the space city are jaw-dropping. You can see the full extent of his imagination and the work that goes into the art in the sketchbook section where he has got his character profiles and ship design worksheets, but all that work shows up in the finished product as well, such that the art helps to complete the picture of the Runners world as expansive and fully imagined. He also gives each character quite a bit of personality even when they're just standing still, so that you get a sense of Roka's stern and even haunted demeanor, Cember's fun-loving nature and Bocce's sensitivity just from looking at them. Wang is the total package, a talented writer and artist.
Runners: Bad Goods really does feel like the beginning of something truly special. This first trade, collecting the five issue miniseries, is a complete story (albeit one with a cliffhanger ending), but I can't imagine anyone walking away from it without wanting to know what happens next. If you're in the mood for space adventure, or for that matter if you just want to support a writer/artist with the talent and imagination to really make an impact on the medium, you should definitely give Runners: Bad Goods a look.
