My discovery of this title came from an article I read on BleedingCool a couple of weeks ago, where writer Andrew Clemson talked about his new Kickstarter title Bette Noire. In it, he mentioned his ongoing series STAR BASTARDS from Scout Comics, and I decided to that I wanted to check that book out, so I looked it up. I’d heard of Scout Comics before but, for some bizarre reason, they don’t make any of their comics available digitally on Comixology, which is how I buy most new comics these days. You either have to find a comic-book store that carries their books, or order them directly from their website, and I did the latter. So I got all four issues that have been published so far, and finally got the chance to sit and read them, and will give my reviews now, starting with #1.

First, based on the title and cover for the fourth issue, I thought that this book may be an Erotic Comic, but it is note. While it has cursing and suggestive nudity in it there is no actual nudity show. Damn it.

This issue introduces us to our lead character, the titular “bastard” of the book, a man named GREEVES. He’s an intergalactic mercenary, with his own little starship called The Ghost Huffer. His crew consists of a woman named MOLLY SIMS, the weapons specialist, who may be some kind of robot or cyborg, and MAX, the ship’s pilot. Max, it turns out, is only about 6 inches tall, but he operates a human-sized suite of armor to pilot the ship. The also have a little orange cat onboard.

The story takes place in deep space, 2,000 lightyears from Earth, with the Ghost Huffer suddenly finding it surrounded by an armada of space ships, lead by a red-skinned pointy-ear alien Emperor named Moog. Apparently, after recently visiting Moog’s homeworld, Greeves began an affair with one of Moog’s daughters, whom has come with Greeves and his crew on their ship. The Emperor wants his daughter back, and to destroy Greeves in the process. The Armada has the Ghost Huffer surrounded and his blasting them with lasers from all sides. Keeping their shields up is the only thing protecting The Ghost Huffer from being destroyed, but they’re weakening, and they can’t escape via hyperdrive with the shields up.

So how does Greeves and his crew get out of this mess? Well, that’s what you’ll have to read the book to find out. But it’s an exciting and suspenseful ride right up to the dramatic ending. The personalities of the various crewmembers, including how they relate to each other, is well-established via the dialog. Greeves is indeed a bit of a bastard, and both Molly and Max are used to but still exasperated by his antics. Great writing from Andrew Clemson, and the art chores are ably handled by Jethro Morales. This series is off to a great start.

CHACEBOOK RATING: 4 STARS

AVAILABLE VIA SCOUT COMICS