Review by Frank Plowright

Earth is not in a good way in 2083, no longer able to support its population, while areas of natural vegetation have shrunk to almost nothing. A bright spot is some form of human unity as the members of the Global Defense Army Team are drawn from different nations, but they’re woefully outclassed when it comes to a viral invasion from beyond. Alien warrior Onyx had intended to arrive before Earth was targetted, but that hasn’t happened. Instead the spores released have already begun to mutate animal and plant life when she arrives.

Chris Ryall never departs far from the SF action thriller template. When Onyx leads a group of human agents into deadly unknown territory, their one-note military minds are patently cannon fodder, with only the telepathic Abby Aquino standing out due to her sensitive nature. In one of Ryall’s better ideas, she’s constantly tuned in to the thoughts of those around her, hearing what they feel about her, and anyone else. Otherwise, though, it’s as if Ryall read Rom, Space Knight, as a child, and felt he could do better with the idea of a single armoured alien landing on Earth.

He does, but that’s largely down to the expansive art supplied by Gabriel Rodríguez, who packs the pages with his impressive designs, technological and mutations of nature, with the latter gruesomely memorable. There’s a vivid action dynamic as Onyx goes about her business, and despite starting with a large cast Rodríguez ensures one can be differentiated from another.

It’s only as events move toward the climax that Ryall begins to surprise. It’s been obvious Abby had a larger destiny all along, and a nice touch is that humanity’s appalling conservation record is actually what saves them from extinction, although perhaps that’s not a universally settling message.

Shortly after Onyx was published IDW acquired the rights to Rom, for whom Ryall co-wrote four volumes, meaning Onyx herself was sidelined. Against the odds, though, she returned in a 2022 one-shot.