Space Riders is the wild and exciting space adventure that everyone needs in their lives. Volume 1 of the series came out in 2015 and shared the sci-fi exploits of Capitan Peligro and his crew aboard their skull-shaped spaceship the Santa Muerte. The team explores planets, encounters strange creatures, and battles all sorts of villains. Peligro is a Space Rider, an elite force for the E.I.S.F that protects the galaxy, who has been suspended from command due to a mission that went south. One year after the failed mission, he is given the opportunity to be reinstated if he is able to successfully complete several missions of their choosing. His new crew consists of the religious Ape-Man, Mono and the artificial intelligence being, Yara.
Volume 1 introduces these characters and along with their enemies, Satanus and Hammerhead. Hammerhead is Peligro’s former shipmate who betrayed him. After defeating Hammerhead in the final chapter of volume 1, Peligro discovers that there looms an even greater foe on the horizon. Co-Creators Fabian Rangel Jr. and Alexis Ziritt have crafted a beautifully imaginative world that features a host of unique characters and creatures. It’s truly something special to behold. Rangel Jr. does a fine job in developing the main characters and creating meaningful backstories that go beyond the sci-fi genre and are relevant real-world character constructs set in a fantasy world.
Zirritt’s artwork and colors are simply fantastic and the psychedelic style is reminiscent of Jack Kirby's work as well as many of the underground artists of the 70s. It features strong black shading and many details from his various brushstrokes that will have you perusing over the panels for hours looking at all of the details. The series is action packed and is chock full of intense and over-the top battles and violence. Zirritt’s color palette is a superb selection of bright and vivid colors that are reminiscent of what you might see in screen printing, containing brilliant yellows, pinks, blues, and reds. The strong blacks inks are also sometimes altered to look like one of these respective colors.
Volume 2 of the series is titled Galaxy of Brutality and shows Peligro and his group going on adventures as they seek out the “Great Evil,” an ancient being who seeks to unleash death and destruction upon the galaxy. This ultimately brings us to issue 4, the penultimate finale as Peligro and the Space Riders all band together to battle this immense evil and its followers. Issue 4 is an epic conclusion to volume 2 and is bigger and badder than any of the issues before it; action-packed and full of destruction and violence. The “Giant Evil” is a badass looking villain, who looks like the kaiju version of Skeletor.
If you love the art of Jack Kirby, the old school Heavy Metal comics, or the various underground comics from the 70s, then you definitely need to read this series immediately. It features an imaginative world of characters, outstanding artwork, and superb colors. Hopefully, there will be a volume 3 on the horizon.
-RV