Roche Limit, Vol. 1

This sci-fi noir graphic novel involves a search for a missing girl set on a far-flung human colony near a light-emitting black hole called "the anomaly." Despite being a contemporary comic, this is a story almost entirely influenced by 20th century ideas, authors, and artists. Chandler, Dick, Ellis, Hammett, Kindt, Kubrick, Scott, Tarantino, and Vonnegut%E2%80%94nearly all of the writers, filmmakers, and graphic novelists who could influence a story of this stripe%E2%80%94are called out either overtly or through subtle homage. Moreci (Hoax Hunters, Burning Fields) attempts to meld these disparate, if not wholly incompatible influences, but the story never rises above them. The words are clunky and dialogue is interchangeable. The art from Malhotra (X:Files: Year Zero) is scratchily quirky, avoiding sci-fi action clich%C3%A9, but it's never given time to breathe or tell its own silent story. The dramatic sequence of events lacks an emotional climax. The muddle of influences leaves this vision of the future looking backwards. (Apr.)