Due to occasionally being mistaken for a writer (the fools…), I am invited from time to time to review samples from established professionals and aspiring new creatives, typically but not always books, and for the most part I try to say yes. Giving reviews can be a double -edged sword; it is exciting and hugely flattering to be asked, but when workloads are heavy and deadlines looming, I’ve been guilty of feeling reluctant to acquiesce, and of sometimes seeing it as a chore rather than the immense privilege it is to be granted sight of a shining, new creative outpouring. I’m not proud of saying that, but it is at least honest. Then, there is always the lingering fear of what to say if I didn’t like it, had notes on the project or, as is human nature, it just wasn’t for me. Such feelings were far from my mind though when reading the first issue of Seron, a new comic project from the mind of Christopher Fenn.
The comic is set in the eponymous Seron, a floating city in space, which if the gorgeous artwork of Jay Rollins is anything to go by, takes at least some inspiration from a certain citadel on Gallifrey, the outskirts of which are filled with a grime and seediness far different from the glittering beauty its outward form suggests.
We are quickly introduced to Jezebel (known as Jez), an infiltrator for the Kolob (Seron’s somewhat rough-handed police force), on her first mission, which she executes with aplomb. Jez is an intriguing character, a natural for the line of the work she has been assigned to, with a skill set and instinct for both covert infiltration and the violence her work demands which teasingly lays the ground for an interesting back story to be told. Her instant success is noticed by her superiors, not least the teasingly mysterious Cole, who’s rise to seniority is mirrored by Jez’s upward trajectory to become the Koleb’s top infiltrator. How their relationship, professional and, it is hinted, more personal, will develop is left for what will hopefully be many future issues to uncover.
Like all good comics, at least in my view, there are political and sociological themes at play. The shining façade of the floating city masking the poverty and oppression invisible to the elite but inescapably real to the unfortunates cramped around its borders. Fans of 2000AD will certainly find much to enjoy in Seron’s pages, but Jez and co. are original and magnetic enough to deserve for their own tales to be told.
Alongside Fenn and Rollins, the creative team includes Kerryanne Brown, Claire Napier, Rob Jones and the always dependable Paul Burley, and their combined efforts hugely deserve a full run of this timely and timeless idea.
If a new SciFi comic with strong characters and some unsettling observations is your thing, then I encourage you if you can, to contribute to the team’s kickstarter and help Seron reach the audience it deserves.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seroncomic/seron-issue-0