Creator: Robert Beaucage
Array Comics, January 2025
In 1928, the anthology magazine Amazing Stories published a sci fi novel titled Armageddon 2419 A.D., written by Phillip Nowlan. The novel featured a character called Anthony Rogers. Like that other famous Rogers in comic books (Captain America), Rogers is a present-day man who found himself emerging years into the future, after waking up from suspended animation. Rogers would go on to feature in his own comic strip titled Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D. The strip is written by Nowlan, with illustration provided by Dick Calkins.
The comic strips have entered the public domain this month. This gives creators the opportunity to craft and publish new adventures for the time-displaced Buck Rogers. One of the first comic book publishers to do so is new California-based publisher Array Comics, in the title Buck Rogers 2425.
Buck Rogers 2425 is written and drawn by Robert Beaucage. The comic is not a continuation of Mr Nowlan’s original story, but instead a reimagining. The promotional blurb from the publisher is set out below:
“…the series merges the spirit of classic sci-fi adventures with original narratives for today’s readers. The story begins with Deering, a resilient teenager in a post-apocalyptic Earth of the year 2425. She encounters a mysterious youth who claims to have awakened from a 500-year sleep. Together, they must decide whether to trust each other as they navigate the remnants of human civilization and battle vicious alien invaders in a fight for survival.”
Mr Beaucage’s version of the story obviously preserves key aspects of Nowlan’s premise, such as Buck Rogers falling asleep for 500 years, waking up, and meeting freedom fighter Deering. But the major change is Buck’s age. In Mr Beaucage’s story, Buck Rogers is 16 years old, and not 20 years old. This on-the-face-of-it minor detail substantively affects the dynamics of the story. Buck as a teenager changes how other characters interact with him. In one scene Deering churlishly notes that Buck doesn’t look a day over 12. Indeed, he does not.
Beyond this novelty of a young Buck, we have the problem of the art. It does not look like the art was created using AI, but it is definitely digital art. The art is bright and sleek, and panels look great in isolation. But the characters are digital sprites superimposed upon background set pieces. It is inorganic and soulless. Sometimes the art styles are mismatched, as seen in the panels below:
Buck Rogers 2425 is one of the first attempts by a creator to run with Buck Rogers now that it has entered the public domain, and the title gives the impression of a rush to meet the magic date whereby copyright in the original story expired. This is underscored by the fact that there is not much that goes on in the first issue, as it fairly stays close to the events depicted in the comic strips: Buck wakes up and meets Deering as she fights a group of monsters, and then is taken back to a camp where his identity is scrutinized.
However, we are conscious of Array Comics’ target demographic. Veteran comic book writer / artist Howard Chaykin published a story in 2014 called Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Volume 1: Grievous Angel. Here is one of the panels from Mr Chaykin’s work, followed, by way of comparison, by a page from Mr Beaucage’s work:
There is nothing like Mr Chaykin’s confronting gore within the pages of Buck Rogers 2425. Buck’s reimagined age and the placid storyline should be considered in context. It has a fresh coat of pastel paint. Buck Rogers 2425 is an easy point of entry to the mythos for children. If you like the original Buck Rogers comic strip and would not mind experiencing it again as a bedtime story, then Buck Rogers 2425 might be for you and your young children.
Buck Rogers 2425 is available for purchase here: Buck Rogers 2425 #1 – Array Comics | DriveThruComics.com