Saturday, August 4, 2018

REVIEW: VS Vol. 1


This was one of the first comics I started reviewing this year and at first I wasn’t really sure about it. Back then I was only really interested in more mainstream type stuff, but I decided to give VS a chance. Since then my eyes have opened up to the indie and the obscure. VS is the ultimate indie sci-fi comic. Check out my full review of the first volume after the jump.

Disclaimer: I received advance copies of the individual issues collected in VS Vol. 1 courtesy of Image Comics.
Opinions are my own.


War has become a spectator sport. Privately funded armies of superstar soldiers march into battle for fame, profit, and the glory of their sponsor nations. When a new generation of soldiers arrives, top gladiator Satta Flynn discovers just how fleeting the limelight can be.

VS is written by Ivan Brandon and with art by Esad Ribić and shows the fall of Satta Flynn, a veteran space gladiator who comes face to face with a new breed of soldier. War never changes, but fame is a fickle mistress and one Satta might not be able to hold onto. Can new sponsors and a new team help Satta reclaim the spotlight even as he is outmatched by these younger gladiators?


Unfortunately, no. Not at first anyway. Satta Flynn’s performance on the field is laughable, and yet his popularity is still through the roof - much to the confusion of the coordinators of the games. They look for a solution to get rid of Satta when he underperforms in his matches.

Even in all of the conspiracies behind the games, readers can feel the amount of physical strain on Flynn’s body as he tears himself apart in the name of the game as he faces new challenges in every issue as forces conspire to take him down.


The alien planet battlegrounds offer a series of stunning visuals that look like they belong in a video game. The beautiful artwork brings the reader in to the point where the story about warfare begins to feel more like a story about the future of e-sports.

VS takes its goofy premise seriously, showing the real horrors of war amid video game-esque rules and regulations and framing it as a fun weekend event. The story may be about gladiators engaging in combat, but just who is this combat meant to entertain? The coordinators of the games? The spectators who are watching gladiators fight their wars? Or us? These are the kinds of thoughts that VS provokes.

Click here to order your copy of VS Vol. 1 today.