About Tales of Science Fiction: The Envoy Issue 1
John Carpenter and Sandy King’s comic book company, Storm King Comics, has returned to the “Tales of Science Fiction” flagship title to carve out a creepy alien meets supernatural mini-series with this three-parter named John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Envoy. Although the series is developed by Carpenter and King, this time around they take a back seat to writer David J. Schow, who brings artist Andres Esparza along for this eerie ride of “science meets supernatural” comic book issue.
Writer: David J. Schow
Artist: Andres Esparza
Art Assists: Oscar Carreno and Montse Esparza
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Publisher: Storm King Comics
Release date: February 2023
Tales of Science Fiction: The Envoy #1
Issue 1 opens by introducing us to computer genius Ben Raines, who is holed up in his bunker right near an active graveyard. Here he begins to record a video about the sequence of events that led to his current day — but not before mentioning his bunker is so high-tech it would survive a direct EMP attack.
With Ben narrating, we’re taken into the past where we meet his younger self and his college friend, Steven Allard, where the two make a pact that whoever makes a huge discovery first will be owed a bottle of champagne by the other. The scene then shifts back to the present day where Allard is presenting a scientific report to his company’s board, claiming to have found a cure for cancer. A crack of lightning and a fierce rainstorm segue back to Ben in his bunker.
While recording the tempo of the storm, he looks out a window and notices a dark, faceless apparition — pure darkness with no features. It disappears into the wind, leaving shattered glass behind as Ben stares from outside his bunker into the storm.
This encounter (or hallucination) is interrupted by a call from Ben’s old college friend, Steven, who says he’s made a big discovery — one deserving of that bottle of champagne they bet on years earlier. Ben reluctantly agrees to meet him, and soon the pair are inside Steven’s limousine.
We learn that while Steven pursued cures for diseases like cancer, Ben — who lost his wife to cancer — has spent years trying to contact the afterlife. Steven’s “cure” shocks Ben, and on the way to Steven’s lab they stop at a hospital to meet a terminally ill cancer patient hopeful about the treatment. At the underground lab, heavily guarded, Steven claims they’re using technology to send messages into outer space — and have made contact with an extraterrestrial species that provided the secret to the cure.
When Steven orders a demonstration of the machine, it roars to life like a contraption out of Dr Frankenstein’s lab. When the dust settles, a lean, muscular, mouthless grey alien stands before the scientists. The Envoy is here.
David J. Schow creates an air of tension and suspense throughout Issue 1 — the kind of atmosphere John Carpenter’s brand of science fiction and weird is known for. From the start, we’re empathetic toward Ben’s struggle after losing his wife, while Steven comes off as resilient, charismatic, and a natural salesman who draws Ben into the fray where aliens and the great beyond are about to be explored.
While the reviewer isn’t overly familiar with Esparza’s work, the art captures several moods — from haunted-house vibes in the initial scenes to the emotive tension during Ben and Steven’s reunion, and finally the electrifying reveal of the alien on the final page. If the goal was to bring the spookier vibes of a John Carpenter film to the comic page — mission accomplished.
Issue 1 of Tales of Science Fiction: The Envoy is creepy, suspenseful, and highly emotive, reaching into the darker recesses of the human psyche. The blending of science with the supernatural summons forth a paranormal being that makes this work by Schow and Esparza more than deserving of the “John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction” brand.
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