Review: Tales From The Dead Astronaut

“Space Monks living on a tree in space. A shapeshifting rockstar conducting the most explosive press conference you’ve seen yet! An armored man of iron who leaves horror in his wake. And then there’s our astronaut…” With this intriguing introduction, Jonathan Thompson lists Tales From The Dead Astronaut on his website spacestationzed.com, and if you think that introduction is tantalizing, just wait!

Tales From The Dead Astronaut (Tales) is a sci-fi anthology told from the perspective of a dead astronaut drifting through space retelling stories of things he’s seen as he slowly decomposes in the great wonder of the universe. The book features 3 stories. Another World, The Star, and The Prince of Steel and are intercut with short interactions from the eponymous character. 

From Thompson, “Another World is about a living space ship that births and is inhabited by Monks searching for a place to dig in its roots. The Star features an egotistical shapeshifting rockstar giving a press conference for the ages. Then finally, The Prince of Steel is about the megalomaniac son of a steel baron, encased in his own steel suit of armor, explaining to the board of directors why they will no longer be needed.”

The book’s three stories balance each other out in terms of genre and content. Each story is well constructed, written superbly, and is just the right length. Thompson is an excellent storyteller, and that shines through in Tales. 

The book artist, Jorge Luis Gabotto, delivers amazing images to match the well-crafted stories in Tales. The somewhat muted color palette Gabotto employs evokes a nostalgic sci-fi feel to the entire book. The artwork and colors pull all the stories together into a cohesive collection of tales. 

Frequenters of The Dispatch will know that I absolutely love a good anthology or book of short stories. Tales is a clear winner in my book, delivering on story and art. The undersized format allows you to literally roll the book up in your pocket and take it with you like a sci-fi anthology of previous decades. I highly recommend Tales From The Dead Astronaut for any sci-fi or anthology fan. Thompson’s debut comic is an interesting, fun, and nostalgic read that is sure to become your new favorite sci-fi anthology!

Tales From The Dead Astronaut can be picked up for only $4 from https://spacestationzed.com