Final Space: The Final Chapter

Creative Team

writer: OLAN ROGERS

illustrator: DAZ TIBBLES

publisher: GUNGNIR

The epic saga of Final Space: The Final Chapter, has come to its final stage.

Final Space, a 2016 television series created by Olan Rogers, is a comedic epic sci-fi adventure with heartfelt elements that unfortunately fell victim to a corporate merger and wasn’t renewed for another season. Olan fought hard for permission to finish the story, and the graces of the cosmic ether, he was given the opportunity to complete the narrative that he started.

Now that he had the ability to finish the story, there was only one way to proceed with it, a graphic novel. Rogers found an artist that helped produce the pages of this massive book, and he goes by the name of Daz Tibbles. It was a massive undertaking, and Tibbles was able to deliver. He makes the look of the graphic novel seamless when coming off the television screen onto paper.

Speaking of the animated series. The show is about Gary Goodspeed, an astronaut prisoner sentenced on a spaceship all alone for five years. One day, he accidentally meets a little green alien named Mooncake. Gary thinks his new friend is an adorable creature, but his cute friend is actually a dangerous weapon that has the power to destroy whole planets. The antagonist of the show, the Lord Commander is vying for that power in order to join his master, Invictus, the main antagonist of the series.

Now that we’ve gone over the amuse-bouche, let’s get into the meat and potatoes that is this epic. First and foremost, Olan handles the recap of seasons one to three very well. So much so that he uses an annoying catastrophically damaged KVN (Gary’s deep space insanity avoidance companion, whom he vehemently hates) to regale us of that time. This works for many people that don’t have the time to rewatch the series or for those who’ve never seen the show. The recap does lose some of the nuanced plots and ‘B’ storylines from the series that adds to the story but doesn’t dampen the overall narrative. Also, Olan found a loophole to tag in a few side stories by adding QR codes that will direct you to more comic book stories at a timed release; more bang for your buck as they say. 

The graphic novel does a good job of balancing and showing everyone’s growth, or lack thereof, coming off the television series. In the book, the Team Squad are back, 5 years after the show’s cancellation. We find Gary and company in the middle of searching for Mooncake after years missing. Mooncake was taken by Invictus and used him to destroy life across space. Quinn, Gary’s partner, and Avocato, his best friend for life, are weary from the search. All the while dealing with their own struggles, such as Avocato dealing with the consequences of having killed Little Cato’s parents. In turn, Little Cato deserts his found family to find any remnant of his real family. This found family has been tested and beaten, fragmenting their relationship. We see the traumas take a toll on the characters as they all are losing a battle against Invictus. We are reunited with other characters, such as Ash, Lord Commander and Tribore, all integral to the narrative. Ash especially, because she has lost so much forcing her to betray her Team Squad, that we find her in a dark place. 

All these characters mesh or weave in and out of each other’s lives so well together, we believe they will make it through and be there for one another no matter how far they’re pushed into a corner. This faith in all of them is because of Gary’s well rounded character and positive outlook on life even though it is bleak at the moment, even for him.

The Final Space Graphic Novel is a miracle in that it shouldn’t have existed but the beings of unimaginable light made it happen. The comic was fun to read and scratches that itch when the series was thought to be canceled. It still felt as if there were stories missing in between chapters, but let’s chalk that up to Olan’s hands being tied by the restrictions of his corporate overlords. The novel overall is well rounded, the writing holds up coming off the tv series, especially when it is accompanied by a soundtrack. Many new indie creators are adding music to their comic stories and Olan is no stranger to awesome tracks that carry epic gravitas. If you want the soundtrack at the ready, it’s accessible on music streaming platforms, titled The Final Chapter composed by Andrew Goodwin & Jake Sidwell. No matter how you absorb this hard-covered comedic drama, its intention is to get it to the fans, to enjoy, cry, laugh or feel. And it does just that.