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I was a late-comer to the Farscape series, but I mourned its loss none the less. The show really appealed to me with its humour and general sense of the bizarre. The final scene of Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars left me asking "But what happens NEXT???"
Thanks to the kind folks at Boom! Studios, I now know. Rockne S. O'Bannon, the creator of the Farscape series, continued the story in comics. The first 4 book arc has been released in a hardcover edition by Boom! with bonus materials including a story outline by O'Bannon. So now I could continue my travels with Moya's crew in a whole new format.
Being new to the world of comics, it took me a few pages to get comfortable with the layouts and what order to read each character. But this was easily learned by the familiar tone of O'Bannon's writing and the excellent artwork of Tommy Patterson (his debut in comic book illustration). The script was written by Keith DeCandido who wrote Farscape: House of Cards (Joy! More Farscape to read!)
The story picks up at the final scene of the miniseries with Crichton and Aeryn introducing their son to the universe. What wasn't seen in the mini-series was a somewhat sinister character watching them from afar. We return to Moya where Rygel is contacted by one of his wives and encouraged to stage a reverse coup against the cousin that landed him on Moya over 130 cycles before. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Peacekeeper Wars, each crew member is trying to cope with the loss of Ka D'Argo. Crichton and Aeryn decide they are better with the nickname Deke for their son than using his given name, and Chiana engages Jothee in her horizontal coping methods several dozen times.
On the trip to Hyneria, Aeryn has a difficult time bonding with Deke making her question her abilities as a mother, while Pilot and Crichton begin searching for a peacful planet to call home. Once Moya and her crew arrive in Hynerian territory, Crichton decides to let Rygel, Chiana and Jothee handle the coup on their own so he and his new family can have some bonding time, much to Aeryn's displeasure as she feels she'd be more comfortable back in a conflict situation than with her unhappy child.
Pilot picks up a reading of an unfamiliar ship just outside sensor range and reports this finding to Crichton, who decides to keep it quiet for fear of worrying Aeryn. Family time is short-lived, however, as Rygel's return lands them in a trap and Crichton and Aeryn have to rescue their friends, and bring Deke along for the ride. While on the planet, Crichton and Aeryn continue to be shadowed by the sinister red-eyed stranger who is spotted by the parents as they work their way through the city.
Crichton slips up and mentions the ship that had been tailing Moya which irritates Aeryn. As is the usual case, Crichton and Aeryn land themselves in trouble with an old adversary (you get 3 guesses, and the first 2 don't count) whom has no issues with using their infant son as a means to get information from Crichton. He is convinced Crichton is there to foil his plans of using the Hynerian military to wage war on the Scarrans (guessed who he is yet?) and doesn't believe Crichton had no clue of his presence. While hiding in an oort cloud near the planet, Moya is surrounded by the Hynerian navy and starbursts to safety.
While Crichton and Aeryn are incarcerated with Chiana and Jothee, Rygel finds himself on a Peacekeeper ship locked up with the very Hynerians who set the trap to put him there. Turns out Rygel's cousin likes to dispose of his people after he has no need of them. This leads Rygel to inspire an escape plan, and he impresses his former subjects with his strength and courage earned from his adventures on Moya. Rygel and the other Hynerians seize the ship and return to free his friends.
Back on the planet, Crichton and Aeryn make an escape of their own and free Deke from his captors and release Jothee and Chiana as well. They leave the planet in the transport pod where they are picked up by Rygel in the Peacekeeper ship who heads off to rendezvous with Moya and a legendary army loyal to Rygel. They head to Hyneria Prime, and Aeryn leaves Deke with Noranti to pilot a Prowler in the attack. After the Prowlers leave, the red-eyed stranger boards Moya. Pilot alerts Jothee to the intruder and he going to the cargo bay to investigate. Jothee is overtaken by the intruder, so Chiana grabs Deke and Noranti and hides. After successfuly defeating the air guard arounf the palnet, Crichton and Aeryn return to Moya and the ship starbursts.
As they return, the intruder knocks out Noranti and continues to pursue Chiana and Deke. Chiana contacts Crichton and Aeryn and updates them on the danger in the ship. Aeryn finds Chiana just before the red-eyed stranger does. Chiana comments on how fortuate it is that the baby is quiet and happy and Aeryn notices as well. Crichton catches up and a firefight ensues, with the intruder fleeing to his ship and escaping. Back on Hyneria Prime, Rygel overtakes his cousin and addresses his people who are elated to have their long-exiled ruler back in power, especially with his enlightened views of how his people should live. Rygel banishes the old adversary from Hynerian territory and returns to his throne as the rightful regent. Back on Moya, the rest of the crew return to the task of finding a peaceful new home and Aeryn realizes that all Deke needed to be happy was for her to be happy and confident in herself.
Throughout the story, Crichton and Aeryn experience bizarre time-lags that they realize are being caused by Deke. Could this be what caused the red-eyed stranger to pursue the infant?
I have to say this was an excellent introduction to comics. The artwork captured the characters I had become attached to and moved the story along so well it felt like I was watching a regular episode. O'Bannon's story was classic Farscape and DeCandido excelled at capturing the wit of the characters. The addition of O'Bannon's story outline was a great peek into how it all comes together. I'll definitely continue to read about the adventures of Moya and her crew!
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