Review: SONATA #1
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â Â Brian Haberlin and David Hine
Artists: Geirrod van Dyke and Brian Haberlin
Colors: Geirrod van Dyke
Letters: Frances Takenaga
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Two cultures clash on a planet called Perdita. Each culture believes Perdita is their Promised Land. The Rans are a peace-loving people, but the Tayans are a race of warriors who seek to colonize and control. The mysterious Sleeping Giants also call this place home, though no one knows if they’re monsters or the gods of legend. And amidst all this, a young woman named Sonata is willing to break all the rules to find her place in this world—and she’s not about to let sleeping gods lie.
Sonata, a hotshot “pilot/rider” of bird-like Thermasaurs, escorts new arrivals to Perdita as the only time a ship can land is within a five cycle rotation of her home planet Ran and the planet Perdita. Sonata’s father, Braman, is very protective as he is a widower and single parent. And he has a right to be as all manner of creatures lurk in this new world full of resources.
Sonata belongs to the Rans, but Tayans , who are from the planet Taya, have arrived and have dammed the river. While they are small in their numbers, they are taking advantage of the Perdita’s resources. The Tayans acknowledge they are weaker in number, but they postulate that they are so much more.
The Rans are peaceful people, but after failed negotiations with the Tayans, they feel like they need to blow a small hole into the Tayan Dam. That results in a disaster that could result in the flooding of the Ran village. The quake from the blast throws Sonata and Treen, one of her Perdita creature friends, into an underground temple.
Positives
Brian Haberlin and David Hine provide an excellent introduction to the world of Perdita. With excellent succinct dialogue we find out the entire back story of why the Rans and the Tayans are on the planet. Sonata’s character development is that of a Disney princess in that we immediately know that a father’s parenting influence is due to a deceased mother.
Rans love peace, and Tayans want power in the form of resources and land. The Tayans recognize that more Rans will equal their destruction. Throw in the Sleeping Giants, and you have a game changer for later issues.
It’s a succinct and well built origin story. And the curious fact of a five cycle rotation of planets that allow enough resources to travel between planets. That’s a really cool item to work with!
Negatives
This feels very Star Wars or Avatar with a mix of Indiana Jones and a lost civilization. While I love the complete explanations and where this can lead, there is an air of familiarity to it!
Verdict
This comic feels familiar but it’s not. I’m invested as issue #1’s that come out from Image deserve a shot. And if you look at the previews of Issues 2 and 3, it looks like this is going to be a rich history of characters that we are getting introduced to!
