Derelict. Book 1: Deluge. Ben Fleuter

A very engaging and enjoyable dystopian science fiction comic. The earth had become hostile to human life, the survivors have been driven off the land onto floating cities. On land strange creatures, misamics rule, creatures of the dangerous fog. Dang Thu Mai is a human scavenger, sailing alone along the coasts and retrieving what she can. She encounters severe trouble and later finds a deserted ship that contains a lot of unexpected information.
Ben Fleuter has created a credible world full of unexpected dangers with wonderful confidence. The silent pages reflects the isolation of Dang Thu Mai she sails her ship on her salvage. The hard work and the megre rewards matched with great risks are displayed with care and detail. The reader is drawn deeply into the world and the struggle for living before the action starts to kick off. When it does it is sharp and fast, the lonely life of a scavenger makes Dang Thu Mai a target for others who see her as an opportunity to scavenge themselves.  Dang Thu Mai responds to the problems in a way that clearly establishes her determination and willingness to defend what she owns.  Another encounter shows just how many creatures now inhabit the earth, before the story shifts a gear with the discovery of the human exploration ship and the assault on a major misamic location.
The art is lovely, the destabilised world littered with the remains of technology and the bones of the hums who used it are provided without ever crowding out the cast or the action. The details show the world and free the cast from the need to tell, the action reveals the story in a very natural way. The cast are very expressive, they are individual and full of personality. The leads and the walk on parts are all given an opportunity to register with the reader and narrative never falters.
The colouring is superb, it catches the mood of the story and gives depth and clarity to the cast and the context. The lettering is clear and easy to read.
Dystopian science fiction has a difficult balance to achieve, the problem has to be big enough to threaten everyone, the survivors have to adapt and still want to reclaim what was lost and the will to struggle. If there is no hope there is no story, if there is no serious struggle there is no drama, Ben Fleuter has managed the balance very well. The problems and difficulties are immense and the personal cost is significant, the will to live shines strongly and that drives the story and hooks the reader in a most enjoyable way.