BOOM!; $3.99

The first storyline for Joyride comes to an end in issue 5 (of 5). With a title like “The Kissing Planet” you know it’s going to be a good one.

The Joyride team sets out to explore an uncharted planet. It’s pink, it’s bouncy, and there’s something pretty and gold floating through the air. Uma and Dewydd wander off on their own to check out the terrain while Catrin watches the typically panic-stricken Kolstak become self-aware when his inhibitions are lowered. Looking around on his own, Bot is the only one who figures out what’s really happening on the new planet.

Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly wrote a nice epilogue to this miniseries. With the threat of violence behind them, the joyriders can just have some fun. That’s what this title is. It’s space exploration through the lens of childhood imagination and enthusiasm, and I love it for that. But, it’s also complex enough to include teen to adult problems, such as being madly in love with someone who doesn’t notice, living in fear of taking chances, and knowing you’d be ostracized if people saw the real you.

Marcus To’s art and Irma Kniivila’s colors combine to create a fun, imaginative world. It brings the imaginative vision to life with creative species and fun color choices, ignoring the more grotesque alien visages and landscapes that other artists would portray.

It was a good series and I’m ready to explore on the next Joyride.

-Amanda Sheriff