Dark Horse continues to collect stellar stories from their critically acclaimed Dark Horse Presents anthology stories into one-shots, and Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s Station to Station is no exception. Originally appearing in three parts in Issues #19, 20, and 21 of the anthology series, this is a self-contained story that also lays the groundwork for further adventures in the world Bechko and Hardman have created, which is essentially our world, just with the addition of monsters from a plethora of other dimensions, parallel worlds, and alternate timelines – where exactly the monsters are from, we do not know, the more pressing concern is that they are now in our world. While the scope of the story is huge, the action is played out on a small, intimate scale, as the scientists who unwittingly unleashed these monsters must race to solve the problem before the monsters cause irreparable damage.

Station to Station has a perfect blend of high tech science and pulpy action adventure, and both easily keep you entertained. Bechko and Hardman have written for BOOM! Studios’ Planet of the Apes series and Dark Horse’s Star Wars: Legacy, so they know this territory and know how to make it their own, too. The art by Hardman is spot on, wallowing in rough shadows and muted colors, giving everything an almost apocalyptic, end-of-everything feel, and, along with the writing, it brings an urgency and intensity to the story. The art is also wonderfully detailed, capturing the complexity of the scientists’ machinery, and it concisely relays much of the information we need through a series of engaging flashbacks. The science side of Station to Station is also very compelling, and even if you don’t understand all of the scientific terminology, the art conveys the action in an exciting way that visually explains it. The writing is terse and to the point, which works perfectly since our main characters are lab-enclosed scientists, and also since they are working against a ticking clock.

The number of ideas and unexpected reveals that Bechko and Hardman pack into this single story, which they co-created and co-wrote, is astonishing, and the ending is wonderfully unsettling. Their tale moves beyond the rampaging monster trope into something more cerebral, and, therefore, in my opinion more frightening. This is more Invasion of the Body Snatchers than Godzilla, with some Johnny Quest thrown in to make everything that much more awesome. If you enjoy reality-shifting science fiction or have a thing for scientists who like to tinker on the edge of the impossible, or simply love giant monsters and prehistoric beasts, then get in on the ground floor of Station to Station, because you never know where it might be going in the future, be it our future or an alternate future.