Owen D Pomery. Avery Hill, (100p) ISBN: 9781910395837. Graphic Novel, read 21/06/25, Paperback ★★★★☆

I’d seen this around when it came out and lots of people were singing its praises so I picked it up with several other graphic novels and put them away safely, then promptly forgot about them all.

Set in the future where the mineral that makes jump travel safe throughout the universe is running out, this is a good commentary on scarcity and how societies deal with the lessening of availability of a resource that made that society possible, as oil is at the moment.

Ada, Haika, and Mallic are salvagers, looking for tech and scraps of the jump mineral alkanite, eking out a life on the frontiers of space, as everyone is scrambling to grab that last big score, find more of the mineral, and as society is heading toward breakdown.

Artwork is solid and really works for the story both in the more intimate interior scenes and the vistas of space and other worlds, it has a real western feel to it at times, and the muted tones match the tone of the story throughout. Everything felt really believable.

In one of their adventures to find materials, Ada comes across ancient symbols that could prove that there were space farers before alkanite made jump travel accessible to all, and want’s to prove this and thus the adventure starts with twists and turns to keep you invested.

A story of quests, dodgy dealings, migrant trafficking, rich people being rich people, and friendship, this did go along at a leisurely pace but it was the right pace to take this story at.

It did feel as though it was open for a sequel and it would be great to see what happens to Ada and their quest to decipher the symbols on the monoliths.