Review: Starhenge #1

Liam Sharp strikes out on his own with Starhenge #1 kicking off an intriguing series that’s a bit Terminator mixed with magic and a fantasy setting. The end result is an interesting start that’s more visuals than story when it comes to what sucks you in.

Taking place over three time periods, Starhenge #1 has to do with a future where humanity had discovered magic but then forgot about it as they go up against a robotic race determined to wipe them out. It’s straight up an intergalactic Terminator with the magic spin of it all. The story riffs so much on that concept it also involves time travel to help figure out what has happened to magic and the legendary Knights that will save humanity.

None of the story is necessarily bad. Sharp has put together an intriguing world and concept that is familiar but adds just enough to make it different. Where things fails is in how the story is laid out. The narrative is a bit choppy as it attempts to pack in a lot of what’s going on and explain things in a way that makes sense. That includes a storyline in the present involving a girl into witchcraft who will obviously play a role in saving the future and is the story’s narrator.

The art by Sharp is disturbingly beautiful. There’s an H.R. Geiger quality about it without the phallic bits. The page layouts and some panels are jaw dropping at times with a crazy amount of detail and painted like dreamscape. But, like the narrative itself, the images at times feel a bit choppy as we get explanations about the world and what’s going on. There’s an odd flow that’s missing at times like separate images are mashed together on a page and then the text is the last thing to be thought of.

I wanted to really like Starhenge #1 and as a concept I do. But, the flow of the narrative and art aren’t quite polished creating a slightly jarring experience. You can piece together what’s going on but it takes a bit to really connect the dots as things are laid out and a lot of questions remain. It’s a sci-fi story that you just go with the flow, even if that flow is going to turn into a time traveling loop of a time.

Story: Liam Sharp Art: Liam Sharp
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – TFAW – comiXology/Kindle