StarCraft: Scavengers has the kind of universal appeal that could potentially reach both devoted fans of the beloved video game and newcomers alike. The handlers of this comic book adaptation are a formative creative powerhouse: Jody Houser (writer), Gabriel Guzmán (art), and Sandra Molina (color). StarCraft: Scavengers is published by Dark Horse and chronicles a brand new story in close partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, the company who developed this already popularized expansive universe.

We open on The Magpie, a Kel-Morian Scavenger ship, preparing to salvage the wreckage of an abandoned Protoss (intelligent alien) vessel floating in space. The crew is made up of a refreshingly diverse group of Terran (human) outliers who make their money scavenging and later reselling their plunder. At the top of page four, we are given both a bit of history/context revealing not just the stakes of their particular mission, but the overall threat weighing in on the universe at large. This kind of effective brevity is so impressive and uncommon that it would be a shame for it to go unremarked. Jody Houser has the challenge of translating this convoluted lore onto the page and takes that challenge in stride.

The task of bringing this already established universe onto the page is made even more impressive by the inspired visuals of Gabriel Guzmán. The image below illustrates the inventive breadth of Guzmán’s range, depicting the crew entering the Protoss ship:

The backlit silhouettes of each of these characters as they enter the unknown is reminiscent of Alien, which is a great place to start when telling this kind of story. The book is made even sweeter by the vibrant coloring done by Sandra Molina. It’s also worth mentioning that two of the three main creative team are strong, talented women, which adds to the list of refreshing details about StarCraft: Scavengers.

Without getting into spoilers, the issue ends on a great cliffhanger, and we are off to the races with a story that is shaping up to be a great sci-fi thriller. Whether you are a fan of the long-running PC game or just a sci-fi fan in general, there is something to find in StarCraft: Scavengers.

Creative Team: Jody Houser (writer), Gabriel Guzmán (art), Sandra Molina (colors)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
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