“Far Sector” Is a DC Comics Adventure with Murder, Romance, and Mystery

A mysterious murder, steamy romances, and billions of potential suspects are the highlights of Far Sector by N. K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell. The DC Comics miniseries is a modern epic sci-fi noir that was released from November 2019 to June 2021 and was recently released in deluxe hardcover. Deep themes live alongside superhero spectacles as each issue explores the dynamics of oppression and revolution that cascade from the mystery of a shocking murder.

Far Sector is the debut of the Green Lantern character Sojourner Mullein, a human who sits at the intersection of marginalization and power. She is a queer Black woman who is also a former solider and police officer from the United States. She is the story’s viewpoint character, and her experiences with prejudice on our modern-day Earth shape her perspective while searching for a killer on an alien world. (It should be noted that the design for Jo Mullein, which was created by Shawn Martinbrough, recalls the music icon Janelle Monáe, who expressed themself through classic sci-fi aesthetics with the album The ArchAndroid early in their career.)

If you’re new to the Green Lantern concept, it was created by Mart Nodell and Bill Finger in 1940. Green Lantern heroes fight evil with a ring of power and are usually members of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency. Basically, Green Lantern characters are cops in space.

Finding the killer won’t be easy for Jo. The story’s setting is the City Enduring, an artificial planet located in a “far sector” from Earth. It’s the planet’s first murder in 500 years, and Jo is the only human among three alien species and 20 billion inhabitants. There are no “good species” or “bad species,” but the three are different: One is humanoid (but with wings and a tail), one is plant-based, and the other is all digital. A history of war and colonization led to an eventual necessary, but unstable, peace that was forced upon its citizens to resolve the conflict.

Series writer N. K. Jemisin is an accomplished speculative fiction novelist, acclaimed for her complex themes and high-quality worldbuilding, and Far Sector portrays how political power and police power can lead to state-enforced oppression. Wealthy, generational politicians sit on the council that runs the planet. As one councilmember says, their “fortunes are tied to the status quo.” We learn that Jo Mullein’s reason for joining the United States Army was the powerlessness she felt from the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center terrorist attacks. She eventually joins local stateside police as part of her search for promoting fairness in an unfair society, and greater disillusionment comes when she witnesses police brutality perpetuated by her fellow officers.

Despite this, while on the alien planet as a deputized authority, she becomes romantically involved with higher-up political figures, while still questioning her own place as an anointed figure of state power. The romances complicate her relationships, as Jo finds herself torn between desires for two aliens of different genders.

Artist Jamal Campbell interprets the scope of the story astonishingly. All three species are rendered with standout specificity, even in crowd shots. For example, the all-digital species, the @At, is drawn with highlighted outlines that remind the reader of their artificial bodies. Among all three species, there’s diversity too: Campbell designs some alien characters with nonwhite features and hairstyles.

His art shines equally during small character scenes and grander action-packed moments. Issue #6 focuses on a nuanced romance and sensitive conversation between two characters, which Campbell frames with close-up expressions and brings to life with warm colors. By contrast, Issues #7 and #8 take us into a virtual reality world, where a constantly shifting digital landscape is the backdrop for imaginatively staged action. Issue #7 also features a mech battle, for comics readers looking for that type of nerdy delight.

“Order has become an end in itself. A profitable one,” a powerful character says. Far Sector questions the rule of authority and the disruptions necessary to evolve a society. “The world always changes, no matter how hard some people try to hold back the tide,” Jo believes. With intelligent themes and beautiful art, this comic presents a far-distant world and deconstructs how maintaining order can lead to societal chaos.

Far Sector is available from DC Comics in paperback as a standard trade or compact edition and in hardcover as a deluxe edition.