Here’s another sci-fi webcomic review.  Galaxion, by Tara Tallan, concerns space exploration and a mission to test an experimental interstellar drive (after 2 previous experiments met with failure).

This comic is one that was first published as a print comic series in the 1990’s, but Tallan relaunched it on the web a few years ago, rewriting much of it and redrawing it from the beginning.  I’ve read both, and it’s interesting to see some of the plot points she changed, but I won’t get into spoilers here.

The story has a lot of elements of mystery/suspense to it, as there is much that’s unknown about what happened with one of the earlier drive experiments.  What makes it compelling is the clash of different characters, especially as the captain of the ship being used for the experiment (the Galaxion) has to deal with her civilian crew of scientists and researchers being commandeered by the military.

There are a number of very different characters in the comic, many of them defined by their jobs on the ship.  One of the neat things is getting to see some of the everyday life of the crew.  Another interesting point is the ship’s survey contact team, who are trained in various aspects of contact with new life forms, though in the story’s history of human space exploration only one other form of sentient life has ever been encountered (and these folks haven’t gotten to meet those life forms).

I’d also call it a feminist comic, as most of the characters are strong female ones, including the main character (a contact team member), the ship’s captain, the general leading the mission, and the contact team leader.

If you like lightly techy sci-fi with a lot of interpersonal dynamics, occasional silliness, and a slowly unfolding puzzle, check out Galaxion.  Plus, this week you can see Tallan’s blog entry about her kid’s Dalek costume.   🙂