Titan; $3.99

In 2071, the Earth has become a wasteland, so the human population has colonized planets and moons throughout the Solar System. The new Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) has set up a contract system using bounty hunters, aka Cowboys, to capture criminals.

Atrio of bounty hunters named Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine have taken a job to find a tricky criminal named Melville. The team sets their three-pronged trap only to find that Melville is two or three steps ahead of them. That’s when they learn that Melville may be in possession of technology that could be a real game changer for the ISSP or worse, the crime syndicate and its notorious hitman Vicious, who is also Spike’s former partner.

Per Titan’s description Cowboy Bebop is based on the Netflix live-action series that was adapted from the original anime, which sounds complicated, but doesn’t detract from the story. The intro does a succinct job of catching up new readers without bogging down the Netflix or anime fans with a huge explanation. The story by Dan Watters ebbs and flows at a fast pace through the action sequences, then smoothly slows down for swaths of dialogue. For the art, Larmar Mathurin followed the highly stylized look of the Netflix show with saturated colors, exaggerated fight scenes, and unique character looks. It’s a good start for the new comic.

-Amanda Sheriff