There’s something about wild frontier science fiction that prompts artists and writers to contemplate the meaning of everything. Maybe it’s the unending deserts filled with aliens or the blazing suns overhead that does it. If a story has spaceships, deserts and lone strangers out on the edge of civilisation then it also has some sort of meditation on life.

Drifter is a very good example of this sort of thing. It follows the story of Abram Pollux, a hardened adventurer who crash lands on the backwater world of Ouru. Pollox is a tough sort of chap and survives several attempts on his life throughout in a grizzled and gritty sort of way. The world of Ouru is more interesting than out main protagonists, filled with desperate marshalls, crazy preachers and all sorts of powerful alien beings, each with their own agenda. Pollox meanders through the story, adding an unkind word here or a gunshot there.

Brandon’s writing is carefully considered and quite minimal in places; he prefers to show rather than tell, and it’s hard to blame him for that, because Nic Klein’s artwork is stunning all the way through. Klein steals the show on every page, creating a visually dense experience that’s very easy to become lost in.

This is the sort of treat that should be read slowly and carefully, with each page pondered and scanned for every detail. Brandon employs a non-linear storytelling style throughout and Klein indulges this by putting as much detail on the page as he can. You will find yourself re-reading and re-checking pages as you go; it’s that sort of work.

Brandon and Klein have created a really interesting book here; despite it’s rather clichéd premise and not terribly interesting central character, this works as a solid piece of classic sci-fi, suitable for reading on hot dusty days.

INFO: DRIFTER VOLUME 1: OUT OF THE NIGHT / WRITER: IVAN BRANDON / ARTIST: NIC KLEIN / PUBLISHER: IMAGE COMICS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW