Don Simpson (2) (1961–)

Found I was missing some issues when I catalogued the last of our comics (unless we find another box of Cerebus), so I got the graphic novel.

Part Star Wars, part early Alliance-Union, part noir, this SF story takes place on a space station orbiting in a multiple system. Jenny Woodlore is laid off from her job on Earth, and loosing her home at the same time, decides to join Frank, her brother, who lives on Chrysalis, the afore-mentioned space station. He runs a 'trucking' business, and has show more changed his name to Skylore from Woodlore thinking it to be more outward looking. When Jenny arrives, the business is on it's last legs - Frank had loaned their last working cargo hauler to a local low-life, Rory Smash, and it had been destroyed by Space Fleet attempting to evade pursuit. It turned out that Rory's hot-rod had been used as collateral for the loan, and Jenny grabs it and turns the business around by using the hot-rod as a taxi.

Dr Beecher, the architect of Chrysalis, returns from retirement on one of the planets in the system. Jenny was his taxi driver and they continue meeting. He is concerned by stresses on Chrysalis on passes by one of the planets, and confirms the finding of some scientists that the orbit is decaying and Chrysalis is doomed within a few months. Their findings are disputed by the government, who try to suppress them.

Cody and Drasin Revell are a brother and sister team of scientists from Earth. They discover a transmission from a probe entering a black hole, and decode it. This took some doing as the probe used 1000-year old communication protocols. The information they discover would usher in a golden age, but all Earth government can do is require them to create a black-hole weapon to crush their interstellar rivals. Escaping from Earth, they flee to Chrysalis, where they are supposed to be met by Rory Smash and taken out of both empires...

The graphic novel collects the original stories which were published as colour back-ups in Megaton Man, and continued in their own B&W comic, Border Worlds. Unfortunately, Simpson never completed the story - it ends with Rory Smash returning and reclaiming his hot rod, rescuing the Revells from Space Fleet (who were about to return them to Earth), Dr Beecher fleeing Chrysalis, and the Woodlore/Skylore business now in proud possession of a lipstick-red passion wagon. So, end of book 1, and as far as I know, Simpson never continued the story, so we are left with unanswered questions. There appear to be some cuts to the more erotic scenes from the comic notably from Border Worlds - Marooned. This latter has been interpolated into the story as chapters 16 and 17, and there has been some additional material added to maintain continuity.

I liked it back when I first got it, and very much regret the story was never completed. Recommended. show less