Review by Ian Keogh
Space Boy 14’s cover portrait is once again a character only briefly seen previously, yet playing a large part in this instalment. Now named James Silber, he was the arrogant government official who closed down the Kokomo police investigation into a robot in Space Boy 13. He’s seen again over the opening pages plotting Tammie’s reappearance in Kokomo.
Because Space Boy runs to over two hundred page volumes, it can slip the mind how little time elapses for the cast, and it comes as a surprise when Stephen McCranie drops in a reminder. It happens here when the plotting for Tammie’s return notes it’s only been days since the terror of the Homecoming dance, and that occurred spread over Space Boy 8 and 9.
McCranie kept the focus on Amy last time, and while she remains a major part of what’s going on, Space Boy 14 gathers together multiple shorter scenes pushing assorted stories forward. A sweet sequence is Oliver showing Amy around his spacecraft, with the sample art showing Amy’s natural curiosity having her blunder into potentially embarrassing personal areas. Others having a moment in the spotlight include Cassie, Qiana and Tammie, with Cassie in particular not one to be fobbed off by vague explanations, and appearing in a couple of tense scenes. Her previously demanding character was off-putting in a school setting, yet combined with her tenacity that personality is proving useful when getting at the truth.
New to this volume is Puffy Pets: Life is Magic, the TV show both Amy and Oliver love. As presented by McCranie in Amy’s dreams it’s deliberate saccharine slop of happy animals bonding together for positive outcomes, which makes the dream sequence that much more disturbing. Also disturbing is the inner demons Amy has, as referred to at the end of the previous volume. Given what happens here they may be more active demons than most have. That’s something to be explored in the future, though.
For all that there’s little movement on the momentous events in Space Boy 14, it’s a joyous celebration of the series strengths, with every scene thoughtful and enlightening. Some, though, also cause concern, and we’ll see how Shafer trusting Silber plays out in Space Boy 15.
