In the distant future, long after the humanity has fled planet Earth, people live in a desert environment threatened by gigantic reptilian monsters. Water is a precious commodity, rationed and dole out by an elite faction called Celestials, who live in excessive luxury and fashion themselves after the zodiac.

On this world, a team of archeologists has recovered an artifact from the days of arrival, a metal head found in the face of a mountain near the site of the rusted out shell of a crashed spaceship. The discovery is taken as a prize by the team leader, Ichabod, to a plucky young engineer -- called an engineward in this evolution of the English dialiect -- named Joss, who is excited about the relic and what it might teach them about early Earth -- or "Oert" as it has etmologically transformed.

That's the long and short of the first issue of Vaut Comics' ENGINEWARD #1 by George Mann and Joe Eisma. As far as plot advancement goes, it's not a lot. And yet surrounding that there's a good amount of world building and character development. We get an insightful presentation of the main foci of the story and a keen understanding of the social strata between the plebes and the celestials through the minor interactions of the inhabitants of both levels. Joe Eisma's artwork presents a population that is both futuristic in attire and mannerisms, and simultaneously attractive and acceptable to a millennial audience.

Borrowing from such popular SF tropes mined from DUNE to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, ENGINEWARD has potential to be a worthwhile saga, but it's going to take a few more issues to make that declaration.