Review by Karl Verhoven

It takes an awful long time to figure out what’s going on in Amongst the Stars as Jim Alexander flits from one scene to another. He opens with what seems to be a murder in Italy, then switches to New York and an usually philosophical conversation on a balcony during a party, before visiting with aliens who seem to be watching Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. Punctuating that there’s the birth of a star, and following it are the thoughts of professor William Holland, crippled by a condition that confines him to a wheelchair and only permits him to speak via electronic device. It’s the first familiarity, and the first time Alexander draws an obvious connection between events, by which time we’re over a third of the way through the title story.

Although first appearing as a collected graphic novel in 2025, Amongst the Stars is much earlier work serialised shortly after artist Mike Perkins began his career, yet it’s a virtuoso display. Rather than use the single style throughout, he chooses to interpret the plot in different styles, with the sample art showing the two extremes. Falling somewhere between them is a grey pencil rendering of scenes from old movies. His designs for the alien beings are striking. Despite having a head, two arms and a pair of legs Perkins gives them a fragility, and they’re intricately put together.

Around halfway Alexander begins the explanations. They make sense of what’s happened before, or at least some of it, but are supplied in such elusive language it sometimes seems deliberate frustration is the aim. We are dealing with aliens and alien thoughts, but there’s some point where they need to make greater sense for readers. Calling a character Gary Speed might seem in rather poor taste, although the seeming lack of consideration stems from Amongst the Stars originating long before the tragedy of the football player with that name. “My mind was never to grasping it in any meaningful way” he says at one point, “elusive’s the word”, and it serves as Alexander providing his own review.

A short back-up strip is also well drawn by Will Pickering, set in a more recognisable urban environment, with extra kudos for it being a poorer city area. ‘Growing Pains’ makes greater sense as a twist in the tale SF piece, and Alexander effectively diverts attention to ensure his surprise works. It’s another story where not everything is spelled out, but this time reading between the lines is an easier process.

Excellent art, but scant transmission is the order of the day for the longer title strip, but anyone more concerned with mood than narrative will derive greater enjoyment.