posted 02-07-2001 03:34 AM               

Because it's set only eighteen years in the future, none of the technology in Live from the Moon is too outlandish. This means that space travel, even to the moon, takes days, not hours or minutes. So there is plenty of time from initial launch to landing for the main characters to discuss their situation, and for the folks back home to respond to the idea that one man is staking a claim to the lunar surface -- and everything underneath it. Young handles these quiet interludes well; I particularly like the exploration of Channel 7 reporter/anchor Dave Archer, who got into journalism hoping to find answers and make the world make sense, and isn't quite able to cope with the fact that it hasn't turned out that way. Cameraman Heck and producer Annie are probably more likable than Dave, but maybe because they seemed more together, they weren't as intriguing. I wanted them to survive and succeed, but I was more emotionally involved with Dave -- because I was torn between wanting to slap him and hoping he pulled his act together. I like a writer who can create that conflict without pushing it to excess.

Other strong characters include Hayes' security chief, Bennett, who is quickly established as the uber-competent no-nonsense guy on whose bad side you do not want to get. Hayes himself comes across in his interviews as well-intentioned, candid and reassuring -- but Young doesn't let us forget that this is a man who has worked his way to the top of the socioeconomic mountain. If you don't think that's a position that nice guys can achieve -- Live from the Moon isn't going to try and persuade you otherwise.

After these character interludes, Young picks up the pace of the plot, with twists coming at a fast clip and plenty of action, near-escapes, betrayals, disasters and rescues. The government, the network, and the mob all have their own ideas as to how to deal with Hayes, and the Channel 7 news team is trying to get the story and get out in one piece. The balance of humor, drama and suspense is very good -- I was smiling one minute and wondering how Heck, Annie and Dave were going to get out of this scrape the next. The art by Matt Smith and Charlie Adlard is pretty spare, almost abstract, but it's effective at telling the story, expressing the characters' feelings and carrying the action along. This is a black and white book, and I mean that literally -- everything is done with blacks and white space. For the most part, the high-contrast effect works well. Pacing and transitions are also strong -- I particularly like the fades from one camera transmission to another -- and the splash page action shots are very good at setting the tone for the following scenes. So while the art may not thrill me, it does the job and does it well.