There have certainly been plenty of space bound adventures that have to do with greed and monsters but is this latest literary extension of the Dead Space universe truly somethings fans need to own?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Titan Books:

When a group of freelance miners find the abandoned USG Ishimura in deep space, their once-fortunate luck turns into a catastrophe. With the Earth Government racing to reclaim the ship and an army of Necromorphs wreaking havoc on board, do the miners have any hope of surviving?

After reviewing my first foray into the Dead Space literary cannon (you can read that one here), I have to say I was thoroughly excited to crack open this graphic novel.  I’m still at a considerable disadvantage, since I’ve never played the games before, but this collection of issues is so well put together that they easily allow even a novice like me to simply sit back, relax and enjoy an incredibly engaging interstellar affair.

What fans will notice first and foremost is the packaging found here.  We begin with a character introduction page, additional art to fill out the overall content with some minor notes about these extra illustrations.  There’s nothing all that special but trust me after you’ve read the story itself that won’t matter, because the creative team does such a compelling job that I absolutely guarantee that you’ll be thoroughly satisfied with your purchase.

For this little tale, it’s key to remember that things never go quite according to plan for people looking to salvage something from a devastated vessel especially where these necromorphs are involved.  But nonetheless that’s essentially the story being told here and to his credit the author offers up something that’s somewhat compelling even if it clings to some stereotypical bits featured in old school horror romps.  I’ll be honest, I absolutely adored the narrative being told here and as it built itself toward its conclusion I was thoroughly pleased with the experience it offered to its audience.  I also just want to say that how the text itself was handled in this release, minus the stereotypical word bubbles, took some getting used to but it absolutely cemented a certain feel for this story for me right from the get-go.

The script by Antony Johnston is powered by strong and uncomplicated dialogue as this little voyage from the first panel to the last page delivers a thoroughly engaging odyssey.  It’s by no means an exemplary literary feet but it’s certainly up to the task of carrying the legacy of the property as it seeks to explore and expand it. I enjoyed the attention to detail, and the examination of some raw human reactions in these highly intense situations as it yielded something that felt genuine.  With that said there were a couple moments where the text felt a little bit too simple for its own good, as some scenes came off as rather unnecessary.  But overall the work done here easily encapsulates terror and this journey in a way that will make followers quite happy with their latest dip in these metaphorically monster infested waters.

If there is a star to these festivities in this graphic novel, than it’s the art by Christopher Shy because from start to finish he absolutely steals the show with his complex, dark and even chaotic illustrations.  Every single panel is imbued with a digital touch that simply ebbs and flows with that right level of insanity a story like this requires.  Beyond that though, the characters and the world are so immensely detailed that you’ll have trouble accepting some of these scenes as fake.  There’s enough photo-realism here to not only please but to also excite fanboys and fangirls.

Dead Space: Salvage is by no means a perfectly realized narrative but it’s absolutely worthwhile.  Between the strengths of the dialogue itself and the intensity of the pictures yielded by the talent this book will surely succeed in making an argument for the overall quality of this saga while crafting a very believable continuation.  There are some minor bumps in the proverbial road but overall this title is so good that it easily comes recommended.

4/5