Some science fiction tropes keep reoccurring within the genre because they are basically fail-safes for just about any narrative. Stories about alien invasions or sentient technology make up so much of the genre and have for over a century. Starship Down #1 is a well-crafted story, built on the back of another heavily-explored sci-fi trope: ancient aliens. No, not the asinine (and frankly condescending) theories posed by the television show of the same name…at least, not yet.

Starship Down #1 explores the idea of finding evidence of visitors from another realm of existence (be it extraterrestrial, interdimensional, or otherwise) hidden for several millennia. The comic takes an almost academic approach: Information regarding the titular, mysterious spacecraft is released in small dollops as cultural anthropologist Jocelyn Young is briefed on the findings. Young isn’t the only expert brought in to investigate. US Naval Intelligence, Russian officials and even representatives from the Vatican all flock to the crash site with their own assumptions and agendas.

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Writer Justin Giampaoli (Thirteen Minutes) takes his time in terms of plotting and character build-up, but his dialogue is so dry and clinical, it might be difficult for some readers to get fully engaged. This is very much a “just the facts” sort of debut, which might be off-putting for anyone who really needs an emotional hook early in the fiction they consume. It would be horribly remiss to call Starship Down #1 boring, but it is definitely aimed at a very specific kind of reader.

There is no horrible tragedy introduced to the protagonist’s past to color the tone of their growth. There’s no unique “I’ve never seen that before” take on the subject matter. The plotting is very simple  and the final reveal isn’t going to turn a lot of heads for well-read sci-fi fans. Thankfully, the whole ordeal is presented with confidence and a sense of realism, considering the extraordinary circumstances. In this regard, sci-fi fans who really gravitated toward films like Arrival or novels such as Hanya Yanagihara’s The People in the Trees may find themselves loving Spacecraft Down #1, at least this early on in the story.

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Rebels illustrator Andrea Mutti elevates the material in Starship Down #1 by bringing a mix of dynamic panel framing and naturalistic character designs. There is a cinematic quality to his work that should not go understated. His use of puddle panels to accentuate half-page reveals is ideal for this sort of story. A story can be simple and still told effectively -- Mutti employs similar tactics in how the visuals move the story along. Vladimir Popov’s colors add to the straightforward tone of the book, presenting a muted color palette that is as matter-of-fact as the script and line work.

Starship Down #1 is a smart piece of grounded science fiction. It doesn’t break any new ground or even present a terribly unique idea, but where it lacks in fringe theory and ostentatious tropes, it makes up for in its well-written, tightly-illustrated story about how the world would handle actually finding such a game-changing discovery. This one is worth a read, especially for fans of this particular brand of sci-fi.

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