Review by Ian Keogh

Stephen McCranie treats Space Boy as an ongoing story, and while it’s likely no-one’s going to begin the series 22 volumes in, as those volumes aren’t being issued as frequently as previously perhaps the occasional recap might be in order.

That, though, is the only complaint about another emotional journey, beginning with Dr. Kim’s revelations about his son. He was just about to tell Amy when Space Boy 21 cut off, no doubt causing howls of anguish among readers. It’s a relatively brief sequence, but with a full dose of tragedy, the whole sequence of events played out prioritising realistic human emotions. It becomes core to the entire series, though, as Kim’s subsequent research paves the way for Oliver’s consciousness eventually transferring to a different body.

McCranie keeps up the policy of having a different person’s portrait on every cover, and this time it’s the turn of First Contact Project director Peter Langley. As readers have already seen, he’s hopelessly morally compromised, merciless in achieving his aims and now has a new target. However, it’s his more human side on display through Space Boy 22 because more than any volume to date this is the story of Space Boy. The focus becomes Oliver’s first couple of years in a robotic body, the unexpected depression and Kim’s struggles to produce something Oliver will accept. It’s largely how Oliver was before Amy’s involvement from Space Boy 1, and it’s an emotional rollercoaster, McCranie excellent at progressing through Oliver’s difficult teenage years. Conversations about how Kim feels about the death of his own son lead to a point powerfully made, and the entire volume explains Oliver’s awkward relationship with the well-meaning Kim throughout the series.

A tour taken by Oliver around the USA enables the unusual sight of McCranie drawing nature in the wild rather than the sterile controlled greenery seen to date. Prominent landmarks are given creative new names for their status in the future, and the sight of Kim in a Hawaiian shirt is a surprise.

Perhaps McCranie has stated somewhere how long he intends to keep Space Boy running, but this volume has a feeling of events coming together for a conclusion. Pretty well all the significant backstory has now been revealed, a world has been successfully generated and the only real anomaly remains the alien creature to whom Langley is beholden.

This is again excellent.