Sloane Leong

For fans of Octavia Butler, Sailor Moon, and the biopunk horror of David Cronenberg comes PRISM STALKER, an ongoing sci-fi adventure series by SLOANE LEONG. Vep is a young refugee raised away from her devastated home planet as an indentured citizen in a foreign colony. She works tirelessly for her insectoid hosts, but there is no exit in sight in this viscous, dripping citynest. The eye of opportunity is closing. Her duty is to her family and her siblings, but what more can she do for them here? The answer appears faster than she is ready for.

Prism Stalker #1

Prism Stalker, Vol. 1

Ryan LaFerney

Prism Stalker is a lush, psychedelic, alien, and complex series that deals with colonialism, complicity with oppression, and identity. It's honestly unlike any other comic/graphic novel I've ever read. When an indentured refugee, Vep, is taken by a private military firm to help colonize a new world, the strange psychic life and telekinetic energy will cause Vep to test the limits of her self as she struggles with what it means to be part of this military firm. On one hand, this story is about psychic battles with rad and alien creatures and on the other hand this is very much a story about the individual struggle of identity and consciousness, not dissimilar from say the work of Le Guin. Prism Stalker is a must read if you love thought-provoking comics/sci-fi. For fans of Le Guin and/or Jeff Vandermeer.

Eleanor Luhar

Another copy I received via Edelweiss+.

This volume collected the first 5 issues of Prism Srtalker. In these we meet Vep, a young Inaman refugee. She is taken from her current residence upon an asteroid and enrolled in an academy on a new planet. There are dozens of different species here, as well as members from other Inaman tribes. Vep tries to help several times, but soon finds that help is not always welcome.

The students in this academy are taught how to manipulate the energy upon the planet, as well as their own physical form. I got a little bit lost on this part, but it seemed pretty cool. Vep struggles with it, worrying she's 'missing' some vital part of herself. She is picked on by several other students, but soon manages to make some friends within the academy.

I was very much reminded of Shade: The Changing Girl during the first part of Issue #1 of this, where Vep is sort of communicating with her ancestors, learning the ancient language of her tribe. And of course, the art style is incredibly similar. The colours are amazingly vivid, with tons of geometric shapes and lines throughout, as well as a lot of fluid movement and forms. It was really gorgeous to look at; at the start, where Vep is learning her tribe's language, there is a lot of tribal influence in the art, which I thought was wonderful.

I really wanted to like this, but I did get a bit too confused. I just couldn't quite catch on to the story. Still, I appreciate the art and the originality of the concept. 3 stars.

Sabrina D. 

4.5 stars! Intelligent, abstract, fluid. Sloane deconstructs colonialism in this über weird imperialistic space where the main character Vep navigates her indigenous identity from fragmented memories and perceptions of her reality. The textures, colors, and art in this graphic novel are everything; I’m looking forward to the next one. Read this!

Prism Stalker #1

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