When people think of space adventure, they may think of series like Star Wars, Star Trek, or perhaps Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Just like laser guns and faster-than-light travel, storytelling tropes about the exploration of what is out there feel sometimes too familiar, perhaps even cliche, much like the cliche of being stranded on an unknown planet.. That particular trope can seem tired, but Dan McDaid’s science fiction castaway tale Dega attempts to forge its own identity by differentiating itself from such stories, relying more on an unsettling tone instead of whooshing rockets and zipping lasers.
Dega follows the story of the survivor (no name given) of a crashed ship on an alien planet. Her only companion is a small droid who monitors how the planet is changing her. There is a dark secret beneath the planet, one that could help her get home, but will she discover that secret before it’s too late?
Dega is not a long work, but it is an atmospheric one. This is, in part, to McDaid making his protagonist virtually alone. It forces the survivor to carry most of the narrative through her internal monologue and earlier memories. Even the droid’s purpose is merely to provide a sort of countdown (any further details could spoil some major plot points). The story mostly consists of the survivor trying to find her way off planet while avoiding marauding aliens and her own body betraying her.
McDaid’s artwork, which shows some nods to Frank Miller and DC’s Vertigo titles, showcases the bizarre landscape and aliens the survivor encounters and even manages to reveal some of the unreality in the survivor’s experience. Mostly, McDaid uses warmer tans and reds for the desert look of the planet, but he then makes the confusing choice of doing some pages in black and white, which can be a disservice to his imaginative designs, along with their details. McDaid has done art for such sci-fi comics as Doctor Who, Judge Dredd, and Firefly, and the brilliance of that resume shows in these pages.
As to whether libraries should have this particular book in their collection, it might depend on how many of that library’s patrons are hardcore science-fiction fans. It has some beautiful artwork, and it tells a solid mind-bending story, but its short page count means it sacrifices a deeper story for a shallow yet still creepy atmosphere.
Dega Vol.
By Dan McDaid
Oni Press, 2023
ISBN: 9781637151969
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
