Review by C.J. Bunce
Looking for some good sci-fi action and fun? You may want to check out the new Starfinder roleplaying game tie-in graphic novel Starfinder: Angels of the Drift. Guardians of the Galaxy meets the Star Wars cantina and the myriad alien races of Valerian and Laureline as a golden robot named Rute’bajha seeks out a crew to help him fulfill his mission. That mission is one of First Contact–to further the spread of “Drift technology”–starship transport–to a planet that has yet to become aware of it.
The crew? That’s a big lizard biped named Obozaya (a commander, she also can dance); Keskodai, a telepathic bug with a moustache who is the team’s medic and priest, plus a sidekick named Chk Chk; Elven xenobotanist and precog Ciravel who can walk but with much pain; Quig, a giant rodent biped with a sidekick drone named Scout; and Navasi, by all counts human, she calls the shots for the crew and is the pilot. Unfortunately they must get past some dragonkin first. Check out our review and a big ten-page preview below of Starfinder: Angels of the Drift.
The story by James L. Sutter and artwork by Edu Menna drifts between vibes of The Last Starfighter, Firefly, Micronauts, and even Cowboy Bebop–just a great mix of sci-fi tropes and imagery. You definitely will want to take extra time to see what characters from other sci-fi franchises make it into the background of this story.
From the retro-future, colorful spacecraft to the costumes of the characters, to the alien designs of the planetary armies, Menna has created something new here–an extension from the early fantasy sci-fi of Flash Gordon. As for all the political machinations and struggles once our heroes get to the planet, it’s also another story out of decades of Star Trek first contact episodes. Here a local leader decides only one of two competing planetary factions should get the Drift technology. Our heroes know that’s a bad thing, and fortunately so do some rebel locals.
Steeped in the roleplaying game world of its roots, this Starfinder extension has all the elements of a good gaming campaign, with layered characters, goals, and objects for the taking. The book is a collection of Dynamite’s five comic book issues, and each features a multi-page character sheet with weapons, skills, and other data for the five stars of the story for RPG gaming. The book includes a supplemental Drift story, plus a cover gallery.
Take a look at this preview:
It’s a refreshing universe of alien races, space travel, and a fun crew of heroes. Paizo’s RPG Starfinder has a great new entry point for gamers. For fans of sci-fi, alien-heavy stories, great sci-fi/fantasy art and RPG gamers looking to expand into sci-fi stories, don’t miss Starfinder: Angels of the Drift. It’s available now at Elite Comics, via your local comic shop, or here at Amazon.
