A Review of Traveling to Mars #1

Traveling to Mars #1
Mark Russell words
Roberto “Dakar” Meli art
Chiara Di Francia colors
Mattia Gentili letters
From Ablaze

Feeling a bit aimless and questioning your every move? I’ve got just the comic for you! Settle your thoughts for a bit and peep the solicit:

Traveling to Mars tells the story of former pet store manager Roy Livingston, the first human to ever set foot on Mars. Roy was chosen for this unlikely mission for one simple reason: he is terminally ill and therefore has no expectation of returning. Roy is joined on his mission to Mars by Leopold and Albert, two Mars rovers equipped with artificial intelligence, who look upon the dying pet store manager as a sort of god. Against the backdrop of not only his waning days but those of human civilization as well, Roy has ample time to think about where things went wrong for both of them and what it means to be a dying god.

A riveting story of planetary exploration and of finding meaning in your final days.

Look, by now, we shouldn’t be surprised when a book drops in shops with Mark Russell’s name on it and blows our goddamn minds, but this book still blew my goddamn mind in a myriad of ways and surprised me. 

Roy Livingston is a complex human being hiding behind the mask of a simpleton. People may see him as the dying manager of a local pet store, but Roy’s persona is marvelously expounded upon through the most gratifying exposition I’ve read in a hot minute due to Russell’s lofty and poetic prose.

That prose is a gift. Readers spend a lot of time in exposition boxes within the narrative structured as Roy’s stream of consciousness. Even with the idea of traveling to Mars, bouncing around in Roy’s mind is the exotic wonder I never expected. It’s beautiful. It’s smart and intelligent, quirky and humorous. It delicately holds all those wonderful nuances fans of Russell’s writing will quickly recognize, but it all feels elevated as if it were dogma. The art is equally brilliant.

Roberto “Dakar” Meli’s linework is meticulous. There is so much care and detail in every panel, in every character’s face and their body language. Between Meli and Russell, they’ve taken humanity beyond the fiction they’ve created. It all feels real. Everything reminds the reader about how silly and serendipitous life can be. It beckons us to chuckle at fatalism while we chaotically examine the breadcrumbs left by these creators and find reasoning amidst the narrative’s disjointed randomness. 

The colors splashed onto every page bring life and wonder. Chiara Di Francia does an excellent job at making everything look its absolute best. Scenes vary from the smallest town moments to breaking through the atmosphere. We’re propelled into the unknown, and Francia works incredibly hard to keep readers anchored and comfortable, and your eyes will remain comfortable as well due to the wonderful lettering by Mattia Gentili.

This book isn’t about space exploration. It’s not about dying. I think, actually, it’s about living and learning your lived experience actually amounts to something whether you think it should or not. It’s a beautiful reminder that we all matter and that we all leave footprints in the sands of history. Traveling to Mars could go anywhere. I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen as Roy and his robot accomplices explore this dilapidated planet and face the unyielding gaze of death, but I’m damn sure going to stay for the ride and “claim the whole catfish.” 

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