Breakaway Bebop!

I found this item title Space: 1999 Aftershock and Awe at my new favorite bookstore Half-Price Books. I would not have paid full price for this book under any circumstances, but I got it for a exceedingly nice price. My attraction to it was simple, it feature the artwork of Gray Morrow, specifically work he produced for Charlton's Space: 1999 adaptations from way back in the 70's.

Space: 1999 was quite the phenomenon for a short while in the mid-70's, produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson this series was a pretty impressive bit of TV science fiction which followed the misadventures of a colony of Earth folk on the Moon when events conspire to eject said Moon from its orbit and into the dark reaches of outer space. A pretty impressive situation. Charlton produced two different Space: 1999 series, one a color comic featuring artwork by Joe Staton and John Byrne and a black and white magazine which featured the talents of Gray Morrow and Vincente Alcazar.

It is this work along with material produced for the Power Records adaptation of the debut story "Breakaway" which has been "remastered" and fitted with new bits to create a more elaborate and thorough telling of the remarkable saga's beginnings. Titled "Awe" this was originally done on the net and collected in two volumes.

Also included in this tome is the story titled "Aftershock" which features all new material and tells the story of what happened on Earth when its single satellite decided to skip out. Obviously the effect was devastating and we see that destruction from the perspective of several individuals all of whom have some connection to the people on Moonbase Alpha. Not everyone survives. The series also tells what happened ten years after that dramatic day of September 13, 1999 and giving the story an outlet to continue.

The attempt here was clearly to establish a fresh take on the classic story and tell new stories. Using vintage artwork and revamping it is a curious way to proceed, but it worked to get me to buy the book. It reminds of the musical practice of sampling.

I don't know how many more of these I'd want to read, but I found this two-part story fairly involving and even at times compelling. Good stuff if you can find it at the right price.

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