'Fear Agent Volume One: Re-Ignition'
Written by Rick Remender
Drawn by Tony Moore
Image Comics
96pp approx.



There's something indeterminably endearing about a character whose catchphrase is "what the deuce?!" Maybe that's why, despite an erratic plot, generic sci-fi scenarios and a less than gripping storyline, I still really kinda like 'Fear Agent.' Or maybe it's something else.

Heath Houston is the last remaining Fear Agent (whatever the hell that is); a veteran of a long gone war with an intergalactic robotic army who now currently works as an alien exterminator in the distant, interplanetary future. You've met him before - he's a drunk loner with a past he'd like to forget; a wisecracking rebel who's all about the paycheck, a roughly shaven space-cowboy who's appearance belies his inner worth - he's something of a cross between John McLane and Han Solo. In fact, he basically is Han Solo, but without Chewie around to keep his shit together. We meet Houston on a routine extermination on an alien world - predictably, things go awry, mayhem ensues, and Heath doesn't get paid. It's of no consequence, however; no sooner is he off the world than he's caught up in an evil plot concocted by an evil alien race to evilly invade Earth. Then he ends up 20,000 years in the past. All the first four issues. Don't ask.

I won't go into the specifics, but let's just say there's a lot of aliens, some spaceships, some 50's style rayguns and a whole bunch of action, all injected with a wash of humour via Houston's neo-noir narration and writer Remender's lively style. Moore's art is entertainingly over-the-top, and is punctuated nicely by bombastic colour and shading. This is the first collection of this new series, and Remender (who also wrote 'Strange Girl' and 'Sea Of Red' for Image) leaves us with a cliffhanger.

I'm not particularly fussed what happens; Remender tries to inject some serious character reflection as the book progresses which should have had me gnashing my teeth to get the next issue, but the re-hashed story (and the fact that none of 'Fear Agent' can really be taken seriously) didn't really suck me in. It's a lot of fun all the same, mainly do to the charismatic, whisky-swigging Houston - sure, you've seen this character before, but now he says "what the deuce?!" A lot. In other words, while there's not a lot of substance to 'Fear Agent,' when taken on the level of comedic science fiction homage it's pretty entertaining - if only for the sheer amount of quipping that transpires. Maybe I'll pick up the next one... ah, what the deuce, I may as well.

Matt Vesely