Comic Book Review - Cosmic Debris #2

Rob reviews Cosmic Debris #2…

Back in November 2022, ChronoCat creator Stu Perrins teamed up once again with publisher Markosia to bring us, Space Debris. Weaving an interesting story of assassins, dashing debonairs, and clueless rogues, Perrins (along with artist John E. Murphy) set off on a madcap adventure across the universe. With inspiration from the likes of Star Wars, and Flash Gordon, Perrins then adds in a dash of Guardians of the Galaxy and Space Balls for a truly interesting take on the classic sci-fi tale. 

And with things set to get weirder, let’s rejoin Randall Crux, and Scarlett O’Hara…

Thrown reluctantly back together in their search of infamous space assassin Shrek Orlock, Crux and O’Hara find themselves at a loss as to the sly assassins whereabouts. Heading to the planet Skeat (home to floating volcanoes), the duo go in search of an old friend of Crux, who has some unique talents. With the ability to see into people’s dreams, the Dreamweaver Newton Shaw is the person you go to when you need to find someone in the galaxy. However, it isn’t long before Randall and Scarlett get into trouble which comes in the shape of one of the planets many beasts. 

It’s from this point the wacky side of Perrins narrative takes over as Randall Crux awakens back in to a world of relative safety. Yet, the breakfast delights of a thermo-nuclear bomb soon throws him back into his nightmare. It’s here where we’re introduced to the mysterious Newton Shaw as he taps into Randall’s unconscious state. Quickly throwing our “hero” back to reality, Newton gives the duo the location of Orlock. 

The rest of this second issue then centres on Shrek Orlock as we learn more about the assassins plans for King Otto, and the world-ending “Phasma Stone”. 

Much like the opening issue, Perrins brings us a great balance of adventure and tomfoolery that’s tied-up within a bow of a galactic conspiracy. Randall and Scarlett make a great double act and so far remind me of the Peter Quill/Gamora dynamic that worked well in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Here the two characters bounce off each other well, and even though we know that Randall can hold his own on a fight, he’s a bit of an idiot. 

In keeping the story moving, we also start to see Shrek Orlock get some much needed narrative time. While we were introduced to him back in the opening issue, it was via an exposition dump. Thankfully, this time around we get to follow the villain as he plots his next move. It’s short and sweet, but does enough to keep you guessing as to what’s coming. My only issue is that he has a world-ending weapon in his possession, so why not blow Planet X up from orbit? Anyway, it’s a question that I’m expecting will be answered within the next issue. 

Away from the narrative, and John E. Murphy returns for another great display of his talents. In my opening review I praised Murphy’s use of facial work - and here it’s no different. The whole dream sequence is so out of place that Randall’s own expressions mirrored my own, especially with the surprise as to what comes next. Elsewhere and Murphy uses a decent mix of cell sizes, full-page, and half-page spreads to help the flow of the many action sequences, and killer reveals. 

All in all, Cosmic Debris #2 continues the madcap adventure that kicked off back in last years launch issue. Perrins, Murphy, letterer - Rob Jones, and series editor - Karly Murphy, all utilise their individual talents to come together to create a compelling sci-fi romp that’s reminiscent of many 90’s Saturday morning cartoon shows.

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