• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Nov 01, 2008 Year End 2008 - Best of 2008 By Mark Redfern

Hey Jude, have you heard the tale of Red Rocket 7? Let me take you there. A rising rock star in the mid-’90s, Red Rocket 7 takes the stage at a sold out Portland show. As he strums his first notes a strange scaly Enfinite alien assassin targets him with a laser pistol. Flashback to 1953: a humanoid Celestonian alien known as The Original crash-lands off the coast of Oregon—the not-quite-a-man who fell to Earth. The Original is nursed back to health by a local Native American and, as a precaution, The Original’s robot helper clones The Original six times.

Red Rocket 7, originally published in 1997, follows the clones, in particular clone number seven, through the history of rock ’n’ roll as they interact with some of the greats. The clones don’t age and over the years Seven works at Sun Records and teaches Elvis how to dance, hangs out with a young Beatles in Hamburg, goes glam with Bowie, and even jams with The Dandy Warhols, all before becoming Red Rocket 7, the magical and mysterious rock star. Over time, more Enfinite assassins show up, targeting Seven and the clones.

In ’97, creator Mike Allred was already well-known for his pop-culture referencing Madman. With Red Rocket 7, he managed to gleefully throw so many of the 20th Century’s most notable musicians into the fantastic space oddity that its front cover is accurately labeled as “Hi Sci Fi.” While not quite turning it up to 11 in a Madman way, Red Rocket 7 will still leave you loving the alien rockers a decade after its original publication. This reissue includes an outro by My Chemical Romance singer and comics writer, Gerald Way. Fans of both comics and rock would be wise to take this ticket to ride.

(http://www.imagecomics.com)

Author rating: 8/10