Alien infections and secret packages infest Port Of Earth No. 9
Dangerous cargo abounds at the Port Of Earth.
Back from a well-deserved break, the new arc of Port Of Earth starts off with exactly the levels of realism and intensity one would expect from this excellent tale spun by Zack Kaplan, with precise and intricate art from Andrea Mutti and evocative colors from Jordan Boyd, along with lettering from Troy Peteri and a variant cover from Aaron Campbell. In a world where aliens come to Earth with a business deal and open a Port for interstellar travel in the ocean next to San Francisco, tellingly, there’s a lot of problems. The deal might not be a good one for humanity, a lot of crime happens in and around ports, and San Francisco has enough winguts to keep California from falling into the ocean, so there’s plenty of material in this concept to work with; the previous issues have been building towards something, and it seems like we’re about to get closer to that something.
Image Comics
Alien politics sound like human politics in Port Of Earth
In the last issue of Port Of Earth, two Earth Security Agency officers tracked terrorist aliens inside the Port of Earth, where the aliens told them, and some TV cameras, the Port was a bad deal for Earth, before one of the ESA agents killed the extraterrestrial visitors. The Consortium, the entity responsible for the establishment of the Port, reacted negatively to that incident and brought soldiers to the Port, but stopped short of patrolling San Francisco itself. This issue starts out a year later, with a quick recap of what’s been going on. This recap is couched as an exclusive interview between a human news anchor and a Consortium representative, and the alien gives very political, evasive answers, while bringing up good counterpoints, which is exactly what you’d expect an alien P.R. guy to sound like.
"“Life collaborates only when it finds mutual interests. This is the natural order of the entire galaxy. Cooperation. Business. Deals.” -Rogoro, “Port Of Earth No. 9″"
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Alien diseases and the human underground intersect in Port Of Earth
People are all kinds of sick in hospitals on the West Coast; it’s an alien infection and Rutgers, the head ESA agent, plans to go directly to The Consortium for a solution. Somewhere in San Francisco, ESA agent McIntyre, one of the two agents to enter the Port Of Earth previously, seeks out his ex-partner George, who seems to be part of a human resistance group known for violent action towards aliens. Once they figure out who he is, he is blindfolded and brought to an unknown location. Rutgers flies to the Port on a helicopter and gets an agreement to cure and inoculate humans from the infection, but is warned that unless the source, which happens to be missing aliens, is found, “the disease will threaten the very existence of your planet.” Rutgers doesn’t want to let Consortium troops search the streets, so they part ways on a seemingly sour note.
Image Comics
Secret plans are enacted in Port Of Earth
McIntyre is brought to a resistance base, where he is searched for listening devices on Zara, the leader’s, orders. None are found and he is taken to George, who vouches for him and listens as Mcintyre tells him that the ESA will soon be coming after their organization in connection to the missing aliens. George tells McIntyre to come look at something, and we learn that McIntyre is wearing wireless video contacts, with sound and a microphone and everything, and is in communication with Rutger, who we learn is the father of Zara. We also learn that when Rutger landed at the Port Of Earth, he dropped off an agent, Valencia, who snuck into the Port and met up with an alien who gave her the location of a target she is after. Intrigue!
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This was a great issue. It steps up the drama right away, with the infection and the undercover plot, and the insertion of a secret agent into the Port at the end was a humdinger. Everything makes a lot of sense, tech and policy-wise, and that makes it more believable, and that’s a quality that sci-fi sometimes falls short on, which can be disastrous. Port Of Earth, however, delivers exactly what it says it does, and it’s well worth a read. 9/10, highly recommended. Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.