I received a copy of Genecy from the author, Gerald Cooper. It’s a new science fiction graphic novel. I don’t ordinarily review indie comics; I tend to study mainstream fantasy novels and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of a story from a writer’s point of view. I’m interested in stories that ignite awe or can teach me something about storytelling. I make an exception in this case because this publication highlights just how hard it is to get a new science fiction story off the ground if you do it on your own.

The story presents itself as hard action space fantasy. A feared and militaristic nation has oppressed the galaxy. They are in search of an ancient powerful artefact, but a broken soul seeking revenge finds it first. All good stock material for a violent retribution comic, which speaks to a young-and-restless part of the market.

The story gets up and running fast with a prison escape, but it is tripped up by passive voice writing ['forces are traded between vicious warriors'], errors in fact ['we were too heavy to make the atmosphere' beside a ship clearly off the surface - the atmosphere begins at the surface of a planet] and unclear writing with mixed metaphors and spelling errors [grievous, not greivous]. When there are so few words in print, there’s no excuse for poor proofreading.

At one point, the hero Kaizaxx is overwhelmed by the magical influence of the key he was given, and when he recovers from his temporary insanity he sees the mythical Dome of Ragnirok but the text suggests he ‘bears witness to a site’ (meaning provides evidence for a place) instead of ‘witnesses a sight’ (meaning he saw something). The demon calls him a yokesack (a bag draped over the necks of two oxen?) when meaning yolksack. Unfortunate errors, easily corrected.

Concerning the writing style, the impartial narrative voice of the author distances us from the story. For instance, it is written ‘he then ponders on what happened to these warriors’ instead of ‘what happened to these warriors?’ as a thought bubble.

In places the colourist does a brilliant job (the explosion of the escape ship, and whenever muted tones are used) but in places the colours are overdone and garish (mostly when neon pink, mauve and red are used, as in the cover). The characters have a digitised unreality in places, in others are drawn really well, creating an uneven reading experience. The main character’s face seems to change beyond the limits of expressional shifts. Occasional poor typography, particularly near the beginning, adds to the jumbled impression that suggests the artwork has come from different sources and styles, a collaborative production built up over time.

These are basic storytelling and art direction errors that underline a classic mistake of self-publishing. Because the budget is limited, no money is spent on an independent editor, so story and artwork that could be improved is included. By doing so, the self-publisher limits the impact of the end-product and makes it even harder to sell and to continue with the series. But the self-published / indie author often works in a vacuum where there is no access to professional critiques or guidance, or they simply won’t accept hard criticism because it’s in the nature of independent thinkers to ‘publish it myself anyway, and show the critics they are wrong’. It’s that defiant streak that gives self-publishers the determination and perseverance required to get the publication into the market, despite the many obstacles or indeed, their relevance.

Genecy #1 is the start of a series. If it doesn’t really blow everyone’s socks off, the whole series is doomed. You have to put your best work up front. I get the impression that this could have been a lot more, but it can’t be a commercial success in its present form. Make no mistake, these guys are dedicated to their craft and have tried really hard, it’s just that the final product lacks the commercial polish that a publisher would bring to it, which is a pity.

The production does show promise for the individual creatives though. There are some moments of great mood. The artwork is particularly good at conveying moments of scale, odd perspective, and brooding macabre spaces. It also includes some wonderful lighting effects and glowing mists. The layout of chapter two is great, with visual appeal and variation making it interesting.

The rendering of the god Raknirok and his voice is great, as are certain pieces like ancient warriors emerging from the inscribed walls. The story reaches a climax of artistic cohesion near the end, then … ends. That’s it. The character has been presented to the world, but without a clear idea of what his new incarnation wants (and if the original character even exists anymore) I’m not motivated to continue the story.

That highlights the problem of the indie graphic novelist. One issue alone is such a big creation, involving a writer, penciller, colourist and designer, and printing in full colour is expensive, especially in a short run. Hence it’s only available from a POD website. For the team to get anywhere, the story has to really SELL.

It puts immense pressure on the writer’s story-telling ability, to get it all done in a few short pages. As such, Cooper does a good job of presenting a troubled character in a mythic playing field, but he needs to develop his writing more with the help of an editor before committing money to get artists involved. The premise of a tortured slave seeking vengeance on his merciless oppressors failed to connect with me, because the enemy seemed to be the whole human-like race (the Grunnon), which suggests an adventure in genocide.

The team, as Invision Comics, are trying to collect money on the creative funding site kickstarter.com to produce Issue #2, but Genecy can only ride on the momentum of the readership generated in Issue #1. I’d suggest they polish that until it shines then reissue it for free to build a fanbase. After a few hundred thousand downloads, produce Issue #2 for the iPad to the clamouring fans. Eventually, the project might break even and some galactic credits might roll back to the creators.

Which just goes to show, it’s a long long journey to release a successful science fiction story, particularly in the graphic novel format. Genecy is a brave attempt to blast a new legend into being, but it ‘won’t reach the atmosphere’ until the ship is engineered to reach the stars.