Harry returns from New York only to discover that he might have finally gotten his wish: a ride back to his alien homeworld! But what is Harry’s home now: the one in the stars or the one he’s built in the small town of Patience, Washington? With a government agent hot on his trail, he’ll have to decide soon because his ride’s here!
Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse close out Resident Alien with Your Ride’s Here, and, like much of the series, this sixth and final (for now) book is a fine volume in what remains a fine series.
Nothing that big happens in this book but Hogan keeps throwing in elements so that it’s never a dull read. There’s a BB gun sniper, children being abducted, a wedding, and a mysterious stranger appearing in town, some of which play out in the background and get resolved as quickly as they were introduced.
But that kind of subtle storytelling is what I admire most about this book. Hogan/Parkhouse are in perfect sync here, showing the reader both big and little stories in the panels. The mysterious stranger is brought in quietly, lurking in the background initially, while, at the bachelor party, the lady cop possibly starts a romance with another stranger, and the love between the police chief and his wife is seen in their interactions and feels real. It’s mostly inconsequential stuff but Hogan/Parkhouse make sure not to waste any space without offering something up to the reader, if they’re looking for that detail.
That’s also my main criticism of this book: unless you’re a huge fan of this series, you’re not going to be too affected by anything you read here. Harry and his on-off “romance” with Asta is just meh to me, and, the most promising storyline here, the mysterious stranger, kinda fizzles out into nothing - although Harry’s decision on should he stay or go was unpredictable to the end. There’s nothing presented here that’ll blow your hair back or stick in your mind for very long afterwards. It’s really well done, both writing and art, but this book is equivalent to a decent episode of a soap or Murder, She Wrote.
Steve Parkhouse is such a talented artist. I loved his colours throughout this book, particularly in the dream sequence, as well as the brilliant, artful covers. He can also pull off both dialogue and action scenes with panache - the break-in scene was great. And, as I noted above, his panels are full of small details, alongside characters’ facial expressions that complement the scenes - he’s a true master of sequential art.
Maybe the greatest success of this series is how Hogan/Parkhouse have successfully created such a lived-in world and made realistic small town people/life the central feature of a series where the protagonist is an actual alien! Resident Alien never felt like a sci-fi series and, in mixing in elements of sci-fi, crime and slice-of-life into its stories, it avoided any genre tropes and managed to create its own unique atmosphere, which is something.
Resident Alien: Your Ride’s Here isn’t an amazing story or all that memorable but the dependable creative team of Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse deliver fans, one last time, a decent finale for this title.
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