Fear of a Red Planet

In the uneasy peace after the Cold War, Mark Sable and Andrea Olimpieri’s 2022–2023 miniseries for AfterShock imagines a paranoid American astronaut stranded on Mars, haunted by the specter of a Soviet cosmonaut who may be a ghost—or a far more tangible threat. Over four issues, the story blends psychological horror with political thriller, using its isolated Martian setting to explore how old nationalistic fears can fester in new frontiers. It’s a taut, claustrophobic take on the space race’s lingering shadows, driven by Olimpieri’s moody artwork and Sable’s knack for turning historical anxiety into gripping sci-fi.