Pariah #1 is a new series written by Aron Warner and Philip Gelatt, and published by Dark Horse about a group of genetically engineered geniuses know as vitros trapped in a failing station in outer space who have to unite in order to survive. It doesn’t make things easier that being on this station wasn’t voluntary as all the vitros were rounded up on Earth and sent to live on this station except something went horribly wrong. Well, not all the vitros are upset about being in space as Toulane, one of the vitros, gave himself up voluntarily and hoped that being around other vitros would be equivalent to having a new and better family. Apparently the trust was shattered almost immediately as one of the vitros is being blamed for the catastrophic situation they’re currently in even though he claims he didn’t know anything about it. Since the most pressing issue is making sure they don’t all die, he’s confined to a room until they can figure out how to fix the station and return to Earth before it’s too late. But with only hours left can they figure out how to prevent the station from exploding while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere as well as how the sabotage was orchestrated?

I was curious about Pariah #1 when I read the synopsis and I felt it was interesting enough to give it a try. I didn’t know if there were other issues or stories that would provide some background information on this series so I just jumped into it with no additional information. And that’s exactly how this issue starts off as it throws you right into the middle of the story with no explanation of what’s going on or what exactly lead to the argument that the first page opens up with. Instead this issue is narrated by Toulane who compares the current argument to the family he had on Earth but doesn’t seem to take into consideration the gravity of the current situation. When the depth of the problems the vitros are facing with the space station are explained, the fact that everything was broken to such a major extent made me wonder how did things get to this point as opposed to me feeling engrossed in their current activities in trying to find a solution. And part of that is because they didn’t seem intent on finding a solution as one argument led to another about side issues that only created more questions and confusion. So by the time the issue gets to a flashback about things first going awry on the space station none of the characters are defined except through arguments and pettiness. Once they start working on the solution the issue gets better but that’s due to the current task at hand and fixing the most immediate problem while showing a little of why vitros are supergeniuses. And at this point I could feel some investment in the task and wanting to see them succeed, and it also made me very intrigued about how this entire situation was created with them ending up on the space station. So I’m looking forward to answers in the next issue but it’s more out of curiosity than feeling completely invested just as the shock towards the end of this issue is due to the act itself and not necessarily the character.

SUMMARY

Pariah #1 is an uneven start to a series that can get better as it goes along. Being thrown into the middle of chaos at the start could’ve worked in the issue’s favor but instead of immediately giving a reason to feel invested in the vitros situation right after, the arguments about side issues only added to the confusion and hurt the story and view of the characters. It does gain some traction towards the end and one of the revelations makes me curious about the answers that will be given. And hopefully those answers will make me more interested in this series.

Release Date: 2/26/14

Writer: Aron Warner, Philip Gelatt

Artist: Brett Weldele