Americana is a far-reaching, pervasive thing. People all over the world love Disneyland, Homer Simpson, Michael Jackson, and Coca-Cola. Not sure why. In Star Pig, that attraction to unfettered capitalism is universal, with various alien cultures being obsessed with the ins and outs of American life, and Earth in general. Written by Delilah S. Dawson, illustrated by Francesco Gaston, colored by Sebastian Cheng and lettered by Shawn Lee, Star Pig follows the misadventures of Vess Singh-Rodriguez, who was waylaid on her way to space camp and is now on an alien space station with Theo, an oversized tardigrade for whom the series is named after. Peppered with pop-culture references and hip lingo (is that what the kids call it these days?), the story told here is both entertaining and hilarious, as the creators take a deep dive into what the future may end up like, while simultaneously pointing the finger at the ridiculousness of our current culture.
Of course there’re synthesizers in Star Pig
At the end of the last issue, Vess and Theo were rescued by the medical team from Beverly Hills Space Station, seemingly led by another human. That was the big reveal, and it was a doozy. Are there other humans out there in the galaxy? Why doesn’t Vess know about other humans in outer space? Those were good questions, and the current issue explains them all. We start out with Vess recuperating from a head injury she sustained when the alien ship she was abducted onto traveled at light speed to B.H.S.S. She wakes up and she’s wearing a Justin Timberlake hospital gown, a sure sign that all is not right in the universe. Dr. Echozar is a dreamboat, and Vess quickly learns that she is the first human the B.H.S.S. has ever encountered. This means that she made first contact with aliens, and it also means Echozar is an alien. He drops an interesting side-note about Laika, the first dog in space, explains how the synthesizer/replicator works, and offers to take Vess to the food court (of course alien civilizations have food courts, why wouldn’t they?), but she needs some actual clothes, so we get the obligatory montage with her and Theo the star pig trying out various clothing options.
Outer space joyrides and Weezer
At the food court (or cantina, why not call it a cantina?) Vess eats a space-burger, and then she and Theo join Echozar in a jaunt around Jupiter and Saturn, while they discuss loneliness. Is she catching feelings for the dreamy space doctor? Looks like it. They head back to B.H.S.S. and Echozar shows her his vinyl collection, particularly a female-vocals-led Weezer B-side, which only makes sense when you remember that all aliens are obsessed with Earth culture. They share a tender moment and Echozar touches her face, which causes his hand to begin turning into pink goo, which Vess does not notice. Star Pig has now given us a layer of intrigue that was not expected; Echozar as an alien who looks human is one thing, but to see his flesh melting upon contact with Vess is a completely different basket of apples. He seems to hide his hand while offering Vess a room to sleep in, and then they kiss; interspecies erotica here we come! He hides his face from her and offers Theo a room with some food, and we see that his face is melting, as well.
Star pig in danger, Will Robinson!
Vess synthesizes some PJ’s and takes a nap, while Echozar takes Theo into a room with a chair and machinery that are definitely meant for invasive medical procedures, and the implication is clear that Theo is in danger. Why would Echozar run such an elaborate ruse? Will Vess be able to save Theo? What’s the next montage going to be about? All these questions and more will surely be answered in the next issue of Star Pig, and if you couldn’t already tell, this is a comic you should definitely check out.