Review by Ian Keogh

Stephen McCranie supplies a great opening section to Space Boy 18, heading back to the conspiracy theory broadcasts and showing how truth and seemingly credible speculation are so easily mixed to become something possibly toxic. Amy isn’t seen during the sequence, but eventually becomes the subject as theorist Nolan’s casual jumps connecting the dots lead to a plausible, but utterly false conclusion.

Following that, carrying on from Space Boy 17, McCranie continues explaining technology in a scene exemplifying the consideration behind every aspect of the series. We see the first robot body produced for Oliver, which to all intents and purposes is cute as per the sample art, other than it not greatly resembling a human, which has consequences.

To date almost every cover has featured a different series character, but this time it’s someone new, although relevant to the investigations Amy and Qiana are undertaking. It involves a return to the virtual RPG world seen in Space Boy 12, and is typical of McCranie’s thoughtful plotting, so delightful when it pays off. He’ll spend a long time setting something up, yet when he hits disclosure mode information comes out in a rush. There’s so much that’s smart about this scene from the reasons for the communication taking place in that location to the eventual revelations, and how it ties in with what’s already known is masterful.

So is the drawing. McCranie was already a good cartoonist when he began Space Boy, but his presentation of how people are feeling has become ever more accomplished.

Anyone already hooked on the well constructed personalities and interesting ideas regularly delivered by Space Boy is going to be delighted with this volume, and it opens up a door into new possibilities heading into Space Boy 19.