THE UNREACHABLE STAR

Jack Blank’s stretchy blue sidekick, Allegra, has a starring role in this graphic tale of interstellar chicanery and errant parents.

Making free use of pop-culture references in this second series entry, Myklusch sends Jack and Allegra from the Imagine Nation through “space…the fatal frontier” in search of a final message from her long-lost mother. Cranking up the suspense by placing much of the action on a planet that will be destroyed by a supernova in three days’ time, the author chucks in battles, betrayals, and a villain’s scheme to unleash a fresh wave of the terrifying, predatory Rüstov before retiring to (as he puts it) “a galaxy far, far away.” Jack and his own reformed bad guy father also start to rebuild their relationship. Using insets and overlaps to sustain the headlong pacing, Orlando fills his graphic panels with a broadly varied assortment of anthropomorphic, Star Trek–style aliens. As she goes on to stretch herself (literally and figuratively) to the utmost to save her friend from both the supernova and a parasitic Rüstov, Allegra also battles an adversary—green-skinned Bekanti, who’s motivated by religious convictions. The thematic conflict between belief in self and belief in higher powers adds some nuance to the conventional good vs. evil trope. Readers will come away appreciating Allegra’s fortitude, marveling at her superpowers, and applauding her eventual success in reclaiming her family’s legacy.

Entertaining and action-packed.