Æther & Empire Volume #1: Eternal Glory (Aether & Empire)

by Mike Horan, Bong Dazo (Illustrations), Tim Yates (Illustrations)

At the height of Victoria's reign, a scientific expedition to Mars has vanished and the daring rescue mission is now a race against time and space. When control is wrested from fellow scientists and given to a heroic crew of Her Majesty's Navy, can the two groups work together to save the men of the first voyage? Jules Verne meets Star Trek in ther & Empire, a tale of adventure, mystery, and terror from Blue Juice Comics! This volume collects Issues 1-6 of the comic book.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure

180 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2016

Reviews

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An "ok", or slightly better, six-issue comic book set in a steampunk 1879. It's hard to say more in the plot without spoilers, so suffice it to say that I assumed the "aether" was for for airships -- so this might be similar to Eion Colfer's Airman. There are airships and Navy battles, but there is a lot more.

My problems? Neither the art nor the dialog are quite expressive enough to express the nuance of the story (I went "Wait, what?" twice every issue. The cast is mixed-race and mixed-gender yet 1870's British Empire sensibilities, creating an unconscious dissonance. Laws of physics and engineering requirements that are not ignored are blatantly broken. Some readers might be able to overlook all three -- I wasn't one of those readers.

"A" title, in Graphic Novels, for my Alphabet Challenge.

Not sure, of course, if a second volume will ever be forthcoming.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book absolutely nails the steampunk aesthetic and technology, brimming with flavour and inspiration and pulling it through with serviceably good artwork. A lot of stories just splat some cogs and gears and pipes on top and call it a day, but here it's done fine, on every level.

Just a shame that the story does not hold up nearly as well. Bland characters going through a plot that's been done before, with no surprises or twists of note. I'm not sure I actually liked any of them.

[Paul Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the best things come out of nowhere. Blue Juice Comics has very quietly become home to some of the most original and well done series of books and it looks like AEther & Empire is right at home among those ranks.

Right away I noticed the interior artwork by Bong and Tim. I’ll say this Tim had to have had a pleasure colouring this and he did an outstanding job of it. Bong’s interiors are simply gorgeous the sheer amount of detail he brings to the work whether it’s in the characters faces, clothing, the ship or the backgrounds all of it is just so stunning to look at. Plus his eye for how to make the story flow and where to draw the reader’s eye amazes me. This is the kind of work that I love to devour and spend my time not even seeing the words but taking in the art.

So this is one of those alternate history kind of stories that takes place in 1879 and you see a flying ship sail through the air like it would the ocean below. With few exceptions it looks dead on what you’d see in the ocean well least structurally otherwise there are balloons helping it stay aloft and the rudder and “wings” from the sides it’s all very familiar, modern and cool. The British Empire has these flying ships and they patrol the air and aid the ships below from pirates. At least that’s the theory.

The steampunk designs are very impressively detailed and the world appears to be very believable.
The main story involves a rescue ship being sent to Mars to find out what happened to a previous expedition. They find life on Mars, a civilisation and things they hadn't imagined. It is all done in an effective steampunk style and it opens the door to further adventures. An easy recommendation.

[David the Ñoldo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The light of knowledge reveals the horrors of the unknown."

Eh. Lackluster ending, but enjoyed a proper Jules Verne-inspired scifi that isn't bogged down by all thr tropes of steampunk.

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s got some crazy ideas (Victorian era steam spaceship mission to Mars) and looks cool but in the end, it just doesn’t work, the execution of the work is lacking. The story moves from scene to scene without character or plot development, ones need to give the time when there is so much of world making. The gutter language spoken by shipmates from the 18th century didn’t help the matter either. The art is decent but with the muddled storytelling, it’s a waste.

[mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is wonderful: a nice mix of detailed and surreal, impression and explicit. The plot has a lot of promise that the actual dialog failed to deliver. The characters are all flat stereotypes, which if this was a strictly action-driven story they could have gotten away with; but, there's a moral lesson to be learned here and really only one person learns it, as he's the only one to have changed by the end of the story. Then there are more than a few annoyingly misrepresented scientific details, including the obvious lack of understanding of the most basic of orbital mechanics that, even in a science-fiction story, just serve to shatter a consistent suspension of disbelief. So, we have a visual delight of a tale that is much more Verne than Roddenberry, and very much more reliant upon established Victorian tropes than modern science.

[kaitlphere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victorian airships turned space travel turned Mary Shelley science?? I was in from issue 1 and then it went in two totally unexpected directions. The ship design was brilliant. I would love a volume 2.

[✿ Mika ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the steampunk aesthetic but the story and the plot was a bit confusing. Until now after finishing it, I'm still not sure what I just read.

[Ambrose Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great art work!

[Zedsdead · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steampunk adventure. Victorian era spacecraft flies to Mars in search of a missing scientific expedition. Military brass and scientists butt heads over priorities.

There are some fun ideas here but the basic storytelling needs a lot more polish before this will be a good book.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't really get it. Artwork isn't bad but the story is whack.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! It's got all the trappings for a good science fiction. It's 1700s steampunk on a mission to Mars. No joke. You just can't argue with that kind of story.

It starts out fast and never lets up. There's a multitude of characters that took a few tries for me to remember who was who, but once that initial stage there was far more focus on plot development than anything else. The panels were sufficiently dark and broody, particularly where the doctor was concerned. Once the crew gets to Mars all hell breaks loose, and it's the best kind of twisted. Aliens and cyborgs? YES.

The only downside is that it moves a bit too abruptly. I'd have liked a little more development for some of the relationships, and a little more time spent on the Martian explanation. A coworker of mine saw me reading it at lunch and asked if she could borrow it when I was finished though, so that's a good vote of confidence!

[Leenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked both the world building and the illustrations, but I literally went back to the beginning to make sure I hadn't missed some kind of introduction or explanation of the world, since so many things occur without any warning or foreshadowing. This is a world with steam-powered space travel, air ships, and necromancy (?). But for some reason there is only dialogue and no actual lore dumps. Usually I'm alright with being dropped in, but I guess the idea that there's a civilization of Martians that all of our characters know about but do not mention until they literally run into a Martian ship doesn't do it for me. This could've been solved with like 3 text boxes of world information. Otherwise? A wild story I wouldn't have minded learning more of in a slower, more deliberate format.

[Nick Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much my sort of thing. A Victorian, steampunk-ish, alternate history which wears its indebtedness to Verne and Wells firmly on its sleeve. Characters are interesting, motivation is realistic and the set up for further stories is strong. The overall design is just the right mix of victorian and modern and the Victorian style newspapers at the end give an overall feel of period. If I have one negative it's that I would have liked a further 100 pages or so to really round out this story; as it is I look forward to seeing where Horan et al take this in the future.

[Tony Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel in which the graphics are certainly superior to the story. This is a story which sets itself firmly in the steampunk genre, and includes many of the tropes of the genre. Although it is a bit disjointed at times, and the ending was weak. The artwork really salvages this graphic novel, which is a collection of the 6 issues of the comic. Bong Dazo embraces the steampunk setting and puts in a lot of detail, which makes this a visual delight

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

A jumble of tropes, poorly constructed. Like a wealthy patron, I hoped for a first-class sculpture of a story; instead I got some abstract lumps of play-doh. I ask how you might feel in this situation? That's how reading this book feels. I'm too knackered from slogging through this rubbish to go into further detail.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this interesting though a bit choppy in parts ~ the story seemed to jump and I felt there were a few scenes missing that screwed with the continuity of the story. Otherwise, I really loved the artwork and the concept behind this story.

[Florin Pitea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars for the story. 2 1/2 stars for the graphic art.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read with good illustrations.

[Estott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally quite enjoyable - but the volume ends on a cliffhanger & there is no sign of any further issues

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm.....possibly a little traumatized lol

Def good if you're into weird, creepy, alien science

[Andrew Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. The story itself wasn't all that great when I really think about it, but the Victorian steampunk setting was super well executed and really carried most of my enjoyment.

[Stoffia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Une BD steampunk aux dessins magnifiques, mais dont l'histoire est... genérique. Pas mauvaise. Juste... Genérique.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steampunk in space? It doesn't work. The genre is better suited to airship battles on earth than inter-planetary adventure.

This is remarkable for its forgettability. I let a day or two lapse between reading it and writing this and its already fuzzy for me. The characters are all out of central casting. The plot is straightforward and only distinguished by being set on mars rather than some terrestrial desert. its a 'rescue the lost expedition story,' and just like Heart of Darkness the lost explorer has gone native and insane.

Its unflavored oatmeal. You can't really call it bad. it tastes they way it should, that taste just isn't exciting.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure what genre this rightly belongs in ... 19th century British armada with aerial ships ... does that qualify as "steampunk"? The scenario is very appealing, the artwork competent and the characters reasonably well defined. It falls a bit flat on the overall story though, which involves an encounter with a predatory alien species and some very gory scenes. I'd have preferred a storyline which seemed less dependent on grossouts and which focused more on social issues, which is what the best steampunk has traditionally done.

[Donald Motley]

Extraordinary

Steampunk space opera horror. The writing is excellent. The art is extraordinary. The resolution is fine, but landscape orientation is not available, at least on the mobile app.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma divertida aventura steampunk, que de galeões nos céus mediterrânicos nos leva a Marte, e a cyborgs steampunk que mesclam tecnologia alienígena com carne humana. O jovem comandante de um navio aéreo recebe como missão comandar uma nave que se dirige ao planeta vermelho, para averiguar o que terá acontecido a uma expedição anterior. Divertido e bem ilustrado, apesar de simplista na sua premissa, e de se sentir problemas de ritmo narrativo.