Liberation is the third of the Dead Space graphic novels (and only the second that I have read). This one serves as a prequel to Dead Space 3, a game which I do not yet have myself, but one that our Features Editor Eric W. award three-out-of-four stars to in his PC review a couple of days ago.
This first I read (and reviewed here) was Salvage and it was written by Antony Johnston. That one featured an art style by Christopher Shy that I initially didn’t like but that did grow on me by the end of the comic. For this one, Christopher Shy is back and it has the same art style that I’ve come to like (for this series anyway), but this one is penned by Ian Edginton.
The story leads up to Dead Space 3 (supposedly, again I haven’t played it to know how well of a job it does). It centers around EarthGov Sergeant John Carver (from Dead Space 3) teaming up with Ellie Langford (from Dead Space 2) and Robert Norton as Carver tries to uncover clues left behind by his wife. Carver’s wife and son have been attached by some fanatics who were trying to liberate the “Marker” site where she worked. The three uncover some secrets regarding the Markers and have to make some tough decisions.
I think the story is fine, and I may even like it a little more when I finally get and play Dead Space 3. Having said that, I did prefer the work of Antony Johnston a little more because it seems like “Salvage” had better dialogue and more importantly better character development. That’s just my personal take on it, and I’m sure there will be those who will think “no it’s the other way around.” But again, the story is okay regardless.
The real star continues to be the art from Christopher Shy, which itself does a great job of telling the story. The art style is basically the same as from “Salvage,” but I find it more refined and improved in “Liberation.” It’s really great artwork featured in this graphic novel.
Dead Space fans, particularly those who also like comics, will definitely want to pick this up. It’s not something Dead Space fans who don’t care for comics need, but there’s no denying that it’s a quality book (and I love that this one is hardcover, that’s a big plus in my book).
Dead Space Liberation gets a three out of five: GOOD.
* A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
