Space Riders, Volumen Uno: Vengeful Universe

Space Riders #1

by Fabian Rangel Jr., Alexis Ziritt (Illustrations)

From the galactic core to the outer quadrants, one name strikes terror in the hearts of evil beings everywhere: The Space Riders! Sailing the cosmos in the Skullship Santa Muerte, Capitan Peligro and his fearless crew deal harsh justice to the scum of the galaxy while searching for the hidden truths of the universe! Collecting the four sold out issues of the psychedelic revenge tale from the minds of Alexis Ziritt and Fabian Rangel, Jr!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Pulp, Space Opera

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2015

Reviews

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind=Blown.

Balls-out, retina-melting, soul-nuking pulp scifantasy in brilliant - and I mean BRILLIANT - color! This is a love song to Jack Kirby and an (hopefully ironic) ode to EE Doc Smith's Triplanetary (except this is really, really good, whereas Smith's book was "Not Scottish,", as I like to say).

Capitan Peligro, the one-eyed commander of the skull-ship Santa Muerte, along with his compatriots, the robot Yara, whose breasts are lethal laser-weapons and First-mate Mono, the mutant mandrill (who I am hoping is named after one of my newest favorite bands, Monolord, though I doubt it); this motley trio is assigned to carry out missions as Space Riders of the Earth Interplanetary Space Force (sort of like the Scout service arm in the Traveller tabletop RPG).

Now, pile onto this gonzo-eyefull of goodness a dose of meaningful plotting, with (very short) stories of love, family, and revenge, and you've got one helluva great ride! My only regret? The plot arcs are outlined here (and one played out in full), but there's so much more to learn, love, and enjoy!

If you have any liking for Jack Kirby's comics from the '60s or '70s, this is for you. Think Doctor Strange visuals meet Sgt. Rock attitude, set a-tremble by acid-laced stoner metal and solid storytelling, and you'll see the tip of the iceberg. Well, maybe the top crystal. But why settle for that? Jump in and explore!

[A Fan of Comics · Rating 5 out of 5]

GRAB THE 3D GLASSES FOR THIS ONE!

A man is trying to prove himself worthy enough to rejoin the Space Riders force after being on leave for something a little extreme. Space riders is a wild psychedelic ride. It feels like a grind house film, like a Robert Rodriguez movie mixed with an old Hanna Barbera cartoon. IT KICKS ASS. I love the design! It has a sweet Latin feel through the book with a mix of English and Spanish. It also has a vintage vibe with burnt page ends or fake wrinkles. But the best surprise I had with this book is that it works with 3d glasses!!! There was one scene that seemed like it was made for 3d but once I put them on the whole book lit up! It made the experience that much cooler. The art is definitely great without them, but there's something about the bold colors that make the glasses give it a highlight effect. its wild.

[Devon Munn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[fonz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es difícil separar ya la ironía del homenaje o que realmente te lo estás tomando en serio o quizá es las tres cosas a la vez. Bueno, éste es un tebeo pulp, pero que muy pulp (con todo lo bueno y lo malo que eso conlleva), de ritmo endiablado y un dibujo que me ha gustado bastante, entre lo cósmico y el feísmo underground, entre Kirby y Gary Panter, colores fluorescentes que te queman la retina, diálogos macarras de película de serie B, mujeres despampanantes de todos los colores y un toque mejicano que mola mil (la nave, una calavera gigante, se llama Santa Muerte ná menos). La historia y los vericuetos del argumento son una chorradica vista mil veces que se lee en un suspiro. No me ha acabado de convencer tanto pulperío, sea irónico, como cariñoso o sincero pero quizá en exceso autoconsciente. Aún y todo se deja leer sobre todo por el exceso gráfico y está claro que este enfoque tiene el favor del público (ahí está Benjamin Marra petándolo). Pero aún así creo que se puede hacer mucho mejor, ahí está demostrándolo número a número el magnífico "No Option!" de Pep Pérez, un tebeo muy en esta línea colorista y pulp.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do the psychadelic Day-Glo adventures of a foul-mouthed space captain (excuse me, capitan), lazer-tit robot and a former revolutionary mandrill trying to make good traveling through space to kick the asses of all manner of space monters and intergalactic scum sound like your idea of a good time? Oh, and did I mention their ship is shaped like a giant blue skull? If so, this is the book for you. If not, you're an idiot.

[Luis Fraga Lo Curto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta vaina es alucinante: El Capitán Peligro y sus compañeros: Yara (una androide estilo Metrópolis que dispara por las tetas) y un mandril antropomórfico llamado Mono; cruzan el universo luchando contra el mal a bordo de la Santa Muerte, una nave espacial en forma de calavera.

En el camino se encuentran a toda clase de criaturas, orgánicas y mecánicas, incluyendo a una versión extraterrestre de Doña Bárbara (God saves Rómulo Gallegos), vestida como la princesa Xena, una ballena espacial, y unos sacerdotes elefantes. Es decir, todo lo que siempre soñamos.

El dibujo es espectacular. Colores estridentes sobre fondo negro y un efecto que da la sensación de estar leyendo un cómic underground de los 70, lleno de polvo y moho.

20 puntos, 5 estrellas.

Espectacular.

[Saul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertidísimo. Una epopeya espacial psicodélica y macarra, con motoristas espaciales, robots, monos dioses y demonios.

[Titus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wild, trippy and unabashedly pulpy space adventure comic. It presents itself as an homage to Jack Kirby comics, though as someone who’s never read a Kirby comic, to me it feels like a pastiche of ‘80s Saturday-morning cartoons like Masters of the Universe. In any case, it’s knowingly over-the-top: its plot is outlandish, rife with clichés and frankly paper-thin; its dialogue is amusingly corny; its characters are entertainingly absurd; its violence is wanton; its women are hypersexualized. Basically, it’s consistently fun, and it made me smile at a few points, but it isn’t a concept that particularly speaks to me, as someone with no particular nostalgia or so-bad-it’s-good fondness for trashy action-packed entertainment. The main draw for me is the artwork, which boasts awesome character designs, well-crafted action sequences, mind-bending psychedelic bits, and eye-popping fluorescent colours.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not going to insult a book this pure with something as pretentious as a review.

This book is 100% not pretentious. This is comics in it’s most comicey form.

Reading this is 100% mandatory. It’s perfect.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun Jack Kirby/Gary Panter-style space adventure.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

the art was crazy and reminded me of Paul Pope's, though when I said as much I was told that it was actually inspired by Kirby's art. But what do I know? The story was a bit too out there for me.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this series so far. From the gritty, neon 1980's esque art style, to the gruff and campy dialogue of old school science fiction glory. In a nutshell, it's about a search for truth, and good ol fashioned redemption-and-revenge amidst a lurking evil in the vast galactic universe. Check it out!

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una fantasía de psicodelia y neón

[Alasondro Alegré · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gamberro a más no poder.

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada una de sus páginas es para colgar en la pared. Espectacular.

[Neil Sarver · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Jack Kirby black light poster look of the art. Unfortunately, I found the story difficult to engage with. I'm not sure if that was because while the art is always fantastic to look at, it's too busy to effectively lead to smooth storytelling or just that the story here is a little too thin.

[Marina Vidal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Este comic te folla la cabeza.

[Xisix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to like this one more though it didn't happen. Some amusing touches such as leader insisting to be called Capitan rather than Captain. Think that partially what hurt this one for moi was that it was too aware of being quirky with it's "psychedelic" coloring and skull spaceship, etc. Aliens reminded a bit of Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit but without the menace and intentional crudity. This artwork felt like it couldn't decide whether to be juvenile or adult. If want to freakout go full on. Ended up wanting more than predictable outcome.

[Morgan Podraza · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPACE RIDERS follows Capitan Peligro as he travels through space with his crew--Mono, a Mandrill Baboon, and Yara, a female robot. The four stars here are largely due to the incredible art in this book. What an beautiful, psychedelic, fun experience!

I would highly recommend SPACE RIDERS to all lovers of AXE COP, in particular.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this. The art style is awesome, the plot (while a bit cliche) sounded fun and interesting. Unfortunately, what I ended up with was a poorly written story that felt rushed the entire way through. Major sections of story line are covered far too quickly. There are times when brevity is appreciated, but all of this flew by way too quickly.

[Breanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art style made me want to like this book so much! However, the story was dry and seemed to be written only to be a vessel to showcase over the top masculinity. Macho bros are not my cup of tea and the story is so depressingly basic compared to the psychedelic art.

[Jessica Bindt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Waitting for book 2.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wacky, brilliant fun.

[Khabeer Rashad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why more people aren't talking about the Glorious Space Riders! Great rockin, Rollin' story with incredible artwork! Need to buy volumen dos ASAP‼️

[Al McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many things that I like about this book, story, characters, and the first one I'll mention is that I hadn't heard of it until my favorite brewery released beers in their honor. In summer of 2015, Oliphant Brewery of Somerset put out four different IPAs, each with Galaxy hops and one other, named for the Mandrill first mate Mono, killer robot pilot Yara, Capitan Peligro , and the Skullship Santa Muerte. The kids at the brewery let me in on the series and described the art as being in the style of Jack Kirby's 1960's psychedelic Thor/FF work. This I had to see.
(The beers continued until 2017. I'm not sad that the unauthorized use of these characters was discontinued, for artist Jeremy Hughes is having more fun creating his own mythology.)

Bought nearly ever issue at the local comic book shop, but couldn't complete the collection, so I found this collection on eBay. Now what to do with all those extra floppies? Sell 'em on eBay?

I scroll through the other reviews here and, yeah, toss me in there. It's wild, wacky, and fun. So much incredible sci-fi/fantasy ideas and art. Words don't do it justice, it must be experiened.
Books like this don't come around very often. Extra points for the aging treatment to nearly every page, making it seem as if this book has just been discovered after fifty years or more in some musty attic.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

An acid space opera starring Capitan Peligro and his Space Riders who venture the starways aboard their Skullship, the Santa Muerte. The Space Riders dole out their own brand of justice to galactic criminals, while seeking out something that will unlock the mysteries of the universe. The story speaks in vague descriptions throughout, hoping the reader will connect their own nostalgia for action adventure sci-fi pulps to a greater story that hasn't really been developed here. Still, there is a lot of charm to Space Riders, largely due to the psychedelic artwork by Alexis Ziritt. The colors are explosive and loud, but it fits with the gonzo style of story to be found here. The linework is bold, energetic and at times, gawdy, but it fits as a modernized take on the classic '70s Kirby-esque aesthetic. This is undoubtedly a fun comic, even if the story is a bit of an afterthought.

[James Calefato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. The story is good and the art is psychedelic but there is nothing new. There are definite borrows from so many different fantasy and sci-fi and superhero universes. You can clearly see Lobo, Firefly, Star Wars, Barbarella, Conan, Hellboy, Andromeda, Farscape, Marvel, DC, Lovecraft, Cthulhu, Jules Verne, X-Men, Space Ranger: Richard Starr, Buck Rogers, Star Trek and Star Wars elements throughout the whole story. The art is fantastic but the story is a little luck luster and leaves you feeling like it could have been fleshed out more. The part I thought was unnecessary was about the trust. It’s like there was a lull in the creative process so we add a dialogue that doesn’t fit in and could have been left out. The villain was also a little anti-climactic. Overall still a worthwhile read and a feast in colour for the eyes but, the crazy praise give by Jorge R. Gutierrez it is not.

[Emiliano Soto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun time

I mainly bought this because it was recommended to me by the owner of a comic store I walked into and I absolutely had no idea what to take home. As soon as the took me to a shelve that said “employee recommendations” he told me to check out his section and I instantly gravitated towards this because of the cover.

It’s an amazing “nostalgic” trip of a comic book that grabs the best parts of every cliche there is and injects a dangerous amount of steroids directly to its heart.

Its a very fun and light read that wouldn’t be the same experience without the AMAZING art that comes with it. If you took that away it would honestly not be nearly as good as it is.

Overall, would recommend to almost everyone just to see how amazing its in so many levels.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one and ive been saying that a lot so far i know but this one was just different, okay so to start this follows the story of the Space Riders: Captain Peligro, Mono, and Yara aboard the "Skull-Ship Santa Muerte" and let me just say I loved it. The characters are all so odd and fun in their own perspectives and each have their own cool little mannerisms and as the story progresses you get to see them all shine in their own ways. The artwork and colouring to me is so amazing and fits the story perfectly.