Dark Horse Comics continues with Amy’s actual school life on planet Earth in Space Boy on its third volume.

Ok, so I haven’t read any Webtoon comics for a while, even if it’s that for special, let’s focus on this comic for now. At the moment when I get the two volumes of Space Boy, the only thing I get to see is the character line up on the front cover. The first volume takes the main character Amy with the background of outer space, the second volume is Oliver who is trying to sneak out from school, but this volume’s front cover it takes a scene of Amy’s old friend and her old spaceport that she used to live 30 years ago. I’m very surprised on how long she lasts, but anyway, the whole front covers are just like what the Japanese manga artists do when they get to illustrate the front cover of the manga which includes characters and illustrations, like Bleach for example.

So anyway, on with the story, Amy was concerned of what happened to Oliver since they ran away from the security guard, but before they parted, they just said to each other “I’m glad you exist.” It’s strange on how they interact with each other, even saying that as a goodbye as if they even know how to talk to each other. But the next day, Oliver is disappeared, but fortunately, he got suspended instead of being expelled, thrown out of school I mean, right after Amy got a note from him. Then afterward, she joined some agriculture club which is mostly a farm with plants and cute little chicks in the backyard. She had a good time with them, even though she has some good terms in school because she made some new friends since she and her parents started living on Earth.

Anyway, back to the note, it said that Oliver wants to meet her at some cafe, but suddenly he starts going on with “The Nothing” because he had a rough life ever since he lost his home and his parents and Amy told him how her life complicates matters so far ever since she moved away from home after her father lost his job and slept inside a capsule for thirty years, even when she lost her home, she loses a piece of herself, most importantly her best friend, Jemmah. But such anxiety she had, she’s determined to call her on video as if Samsung Galaxy created Whatsapp, Messenger or something. Does she ever get the time to use a tablet to call someone on video? Back on the first volume, Amy hesitated from making a call after she got to Earth, and afraid that time actually consumed her or Jemmah. It’s nothing much different than having a preview of the Samsung Fold, what is up with the design? It sure looks like a phone shaped of a rectangle but it can fold into two screens and turning into a tablet? I’m not a fan of that. So anyway, when she got her call, Jemmah already married Dylan for twenty years ago as if time has got into them. After a few hours of talking, showing her kids and going on with all the drama, she’s actually having a good time talking to her for thirty years, I am not kidding, this is probably the best moment of this comic between compassion and friendships.

So let’s talk about characters, first off we have our protagonist, Amy. Well as I said on the first volume review, she has a flavor of cherry which is very moderate but also her smile is very cheery and even that she is gentle and very sweet as if she’s putting everyone in a good mood when she’s around, even her speeches about flavors and all makes it inspiring for the readers, I do like her even more than reading the first three volumes of the story. Jemmah, Amy’s best friend is always around her in time and space, but how does Amy forget her friendship even for sleeping on a capsule for that long. But afterward her heart is still being around friends with Jemmah, that is very sweet for both of them. Then there’s Zeph… BOOOOOOORRRRRIINNNNGGGGG, but he’s alright, just cut him some slack, be patient and you’ll see. Of course, we have Cassie and her boyfriend David as if they’re partners in crime. Cassie is almost becoming a thot with full awareness even though she’s actually a sassy person, but David is like the definition of man bulldozer, does he gets issues between his girlfriend and his old rival just to have a change of heart? What’s his story anyway? Speaking of rivals, there’s this dumb nut Scott who is the captain of Bridgeport Bandits football team, aka big, and ugly gang member wannabe. Does he really go and try to pick fights with every football rivals whenever he goes, and I’m glad Amy threw a pie against him because he’s a dog, he’s nothing but to bark others for no reason. Dr. Kim, let’s just say that I’m glad that he exists, he’s like a father to anyone, he may be a scientist, but monitoring the boy who is talking to a girl, and it’s actually normal that a boy would have a guardian rather than having some associates to protect him. I would give it a shout out for the students of the Agriculture club, Meisha, Tamara, and Shafer aka big and full of diabetes. Actually, they’re really nice people, just to show Amy around with the Agriculture club and the baby chicks which would make her happy at some point. And then there’s Maki, nothing much to talk about her, but she’s a good artist whatsoever, even when Stephen gets to write some Japanese in a text bubble, he’s been able to translate slightly without difficulty. Then there’s Amy’s parents were very much straightforward and her family is as sweet as her, even for not making money, they’re still the happiest family alive.

But it’s time to get serious, let’s talk about the real protagonist of this comic, Oliver. First of all, he’s actually not a hated character of the comic, but this was a big deal to me that he died from outer space and revived as a cyborg living on Earth for obvious reasons. Second, going through with Oliver on this comic series is like giving a single tear in my eye, the first time when I read this comic on Webtoon he’s acting nothing more than a robot, but to him, he’s very disoriented for several reasons. And to think that Cassie brought up with some strange rumor on the first volume wasn’t bad enough, she was saying that his behavior is inhuman like he was death incarnate. Even when Dr. Kim discovered that Oliver was talking to Amy, he seems that Oliver is making friends with her like a human being. I really got to acknowledge with his story because his life is all but nothing as if all of his surroundings are “The Nothing”, but in real life, he’s lonely at heart. Besides what kind of a person returns to the place where he lost everything that he cared about and spent his time in the art room painting a landscape? That was a rhetorical question, by the way, the answer is “The Nothing”. The way he talked to Amy is actually an example of his true feelings and what it felt to him to be alive. And later, Amy forms a bond with him as individuals who are lost on a different time and place. Even Dr. Kim approves that he’s making friends with her, but his associates are concerned that somehow Oliver is in danger or something as if they don’t care that he’s human, they care about his safety. Dr. Kim argues to them that they should stop treating him like a toy, they should deserve to learn their lesson. Do not bring your HR complaints to your superior. And then there’s the whole friendship montage which makes this comic more heartfelt stories alike.

So this volume brings out the biggest moments of Amy’s life, even for contacting her lost friend who still lives in the spaceport. Everything is like a slice of life, that’s actually very moving to the readers to know how friendship is like. So the characters can have this moment because, at the end of the day, ya win some, ya lose some. But at the very moment, they about to experience the very darkest hours between time and space. There are also some mini-comics of Lil Amy, made by Stephen McCranie himself, just to have an extra webtoon episode at the end of this volume, it’s cute, but hilarious in a way. So anyway, if you rather want to continue where you left off to this graphic novel webtoon version, then this is for you.

By Kevin Bermeo

I'm a New Yorker Artist, and I traveled a lot. I enjoy making comics, illustrations, paintings, and digital art. Besides drawing, I'm also a writer, I used to be a Gamer, and I love adventures, food, and dragons.