50 Signal
Created by: Nick Gonzo
Review by Jared Gafford
50 Signal is the story of space explorer and his many adventures. Our main character is a spaceman that was born and raised to investigate, document and salvage what he finds in space. With a special connection to his living spaceship, he is built to explore. With the innocence of a child and the passion many of us which we had, he successfully travels through out space coming across new creatures, planets and wildlife.
Issue one is our introduction to this main character. We learn about what his mission is and we learn about him as a character. Nick Gonzo did a great job of capturing that wide-eyed ambition that all of us had as a child, yet most of us have lost along the way. It’s a good reminder to always keep growing and learning.
Issue two continues our main character’s adventure where he is exploring the inside of a giant’s bone, only to end up in a waiting room full of other spacemen and explorers. We then learn about all of their different adventures and how they all arrived in this space waiting room with each other. Some are in it for the ladies, others are there because they just love exploring.
The writing in this book was great. It was simple enough that someone not familiar with space could understand, while still being very descriptive and imaginative. Gonzo does a great job of making you feel and care for the main character. The writing really draws you into the book and keeps you there. The black and white are works great for a book like this. It reminded me a lot of the classic comics I used to read in newspapers as a child and I love that about it. It was simple and easy to see, while still being somewhat complex in it’s layouts and paneling. I was very impressed with Nick Gonzo’s overall creativity in these first two issues.
While I enjoyed 
this book overall, there were a few things that kind of took me out of it, that I think are very fixable moving forward. The lettering and grammar in this book was a little amateur and had me struggling to get through some sections. I feel like if the lettering had been a little more consistent and the spelling of certain words had been more thoroughly edited, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more.
The Verdict? Check it out. Overall this is a very charming, fun, and enjoyable book. The entire time I was reading it, I was transported back to when I was a child and anything seemed possible. That’s something that I think is rare in the world today and it made me fall in love with this world Nick Gonzo created. I think there needs to be more literature and more stories told where there are endless possibilities and the world is our canvas. The art is simple in this book, but that can sometimes add to the charm of the book. If you’re into space and exploration books, this book is definitely for you. Definitely give this indie book a chance. It just might capture your heart the way it captured mine.
