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Blue Book #1
- Writer:
- James Tynion IV
- Artist:
- Michael Avon Oeming
- Letterer:
- Aditya Bidikar
- Cover Artist:
- Michael Avon Oeming
- Publisher:
- Dark Horse Comics
- Price:
- $4.99
- Release Date:
- 2023-02-22
- Colorist:
- Michael Avon Oeming
Dark Horse Comics presents Blue Book #1, a non-fiction comic based on the findings of the real-life outfit Project Blue Book, an arm of the United States Air Force that was dedicated to researching UFO sightings between 1952 and 1969. Written by James Tynion IV, with art by Michael Avon Oeming and letters by Aditya Bidikar, Blue Book #1 also contains the backup comic, True Weird: Coney Island, also written by Tynion IV and featuring letters by Bidikar, with art by Klaus Janson.
Blue Book #1 recounts the story of Betty and Barney Hill, the victims of one of the most famous UFO encounters of the 1960s. The comic follows the Hills (along with their dachshund dog, Delsey) returning from a short vacation in Canada. After departing a diner, they begin their overnight drive but are sidetracked when Betty spots a strange light beside the moon. Hopping out of the car to get a better look, Barney expresses skepticism, despite Betty's enthusiasm. As the pair continue to drive, the mysterious object in the sky orbits closer and closer until neither of them can deny its presence.
Tynion IV's writing in Blue Book #1 is stylish and precise, providing an inspired interpretation of this incredibly renowned and well-trodden story. Tynion IV hits on a lot of emotional beats in this short comic, giving all of them room to breathe and progress organically, blending non-fiction with storytelling for a seamless experience that perfectly reflects the supernatural strangeness of the Hills' story. The bumper comic True Weird: Coney Island is of a very different style, speaking more about how stories of oddities proliferate.
The art of Blue Book #1 is a real visual masterclass from Oeming, stylized and surreal, thick with subtle allusions and visual cues. Composed of very few hard lines and relying on his color work to add depth and texture, Oeming captures something fluid and dreamlike in his illustration. It's gorgeous and ethereal. His style allows for great versatility, the story moving from homely to chillingly eerie within a matter of pages. Janson's work in True Weird: Coney Island is remarkably different, full of hatching and texture, totally bereft of colors. The polarity between the two art styles is dynamic and makes the two stories feel distinct, despite sharing an undercurrent of strangeness.
Oeming's colors in Blue Book #1 are stunning, taking an extremely limited pallet of black, white, and shades of blue and composing a gorgeous world of contrast and silhouettes. His use of white and black is astonishingly effective at creating an unnerving atmosphere, with only accents of cold blues to add dimension and shape to the illustration. The penultimate page of the comic is the only place any other color appears, to a powerfully disconcerting effect, driving home the terror of a pivotal moment in the story. Bidikar's letters are strong throughout Blue Book #1, crisp and clear, using different fonts to differentiate between narration and dialogue. Bidikar's use of emboldening and italics makes the dialogue more impactful. His work in True Weird is much more angular and scratchy, speaking to the comic's old-world charm.
Blue Book #1 is a loving retelling of a UFO classic, channeling all the high strangeness of the Hills' story into a tightly plotted and highly effective piece of work. Ending with a dramatic cliffhanger, this is a terrific first issue that will whet the appetite of hardcore Hynek fans and UFO newcomers alike.