Straight Forward Reviews : Fracture Vol. 2 # 3

Action Lab continues Fracture's second volume. With twists and turns in the story and tensions heating up in Jeff's personal life just what can be expected this from this issue? Read on and find out.

Writer - Shawn Gabborin

Artist - Chad Cicconi

Publisher - Action Lab

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

This particular series is one that's easy to spoil so without trying to give too much away. Jeff's fracture clone Virtue seems to be going through a change. Virtue seems to have his own views on right and wrong and they seem to be quite different than what Jeff feels.

The comic started off with what seems like a Saturday morning cartoon battle between "the bad guys" and "the good guys" how wrong you are if you think that's all this comic would be, or even if you think that's all the battle at the beginning is. Within five pages the story takes a turn and you'll see how the comic veers from what it seemed to be at the beginning. It turns into something more complex and with quite a bit of character development.

Art

The art is alright. The lines are great but the colors could be more detailed for this kind of story. I love bright and vibrant colors but for this kind of cerebral story it feels kind of odd for the characters to be looking like children's cartoons. It doesn't really hurt the comic's story though and it's not off putting enough to make it a jarring experience to read.

Verdict

This issue brings tension, mystery and action into a pretty awesome package. Some of the dialog feels like it's trying a little too hard to poke fun of tropes and clichés. But I still have to say it's pretty smartly written and totally worth reading. I give Fracture Vol. 2 # 3 an 8 out of 10.

1st Impressions: FRACTURE ENCORE EDITION # 1

FRACTURE ENCORE EDITION # 1

Written by Shawn Gabborins
Art by Chad Cicconi & Dave Dwonch
Action Lab Entertainment

FLIPPING THROUGH:

                We get introduced to our main character Jeff … I mean Malice, the supervillain … no wait! Not Malice!  It’s the hero, Virtue! The mighty hero Virtue comes to rescue a woman from some muggers … and finds himself married … wait, no … our main character is Jeff. It’s Malice. No. It’s Virtue. No. It’s Jeff. And thus … Fracture begins.

ART:

                Cicconi and Dwonch give us a great book here. The classic comic book style is meshed with some great panel composition that you would not normally see. There was a good use of angles, backgrounds and a strong amount of expression.  Cicconi does a good job giving people a good amount of detail to make them distinct.  While the style is simplier, Cicconi is able to convey action well.  Yet, there are a few panels where the detail is less and it hurts it a little but overall, solid pencils.

                Dwonch’s colors and shade really work to strengthen Cicconi’s work.  The colors are a bit light on some points but Dwonch does a good job shading.  Yet, Dwonch makes it work, help giving  Cicconi’s work the detail of expression it needs.  While the style might not be in the Big Two, it is still a solid comic.

WRITING:

                Okay. I give it to you Gabborin. I am all in. Jeff is an interesting character with a wonderful conundrum. When readers read this book, you are never sure of what is happening. But that mystery is a driving force and Gabborin makes it entertaining. We get a look at three distinct sides: a villain, a hero and a civilian. The book poses a lot of questions while taking the time to have fun with classic super hero banter, tropes and overall fascinations people have with heroes and villains.
                Gabborin nails it with great dialogue. It is very natural … for Virtue and Jeff. The portions with Malice are purposely over the top.  Yet, I found Malice’s dialogue to be endearing.

                The pacing of the book was excellent. Gabborin give you just enough  to get a feeling for the characters and story that it will make you want more. Well done by Gabborin.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                The art was solid. The story was awesome. This book has a lot going for it and I am in for the ride.

 RATING:

                I give Fracture Encore Edition # 1 an 8 …. Out of 10. Get it now. 

Comics News: FRACTURE Returns in a BIG WAY!

FRACTURE RETURNS TO SHATTER THE STATUS QUO!
Action Lab Entertainments flagship “Hero” returns in an all-new mini-series.

Pittsburgh, P.A._- Action Lab Entertainment, the company taking the comics industry by storm returns to it’s roots. Fracture, a series that began as a successful Kickstarter campaign and launch pad for the company itself returns in an all-new miniseries. Created by writer Shawn Gabborin (Snowed in, Angry Gnome Comics) and artist Chad Cicconi (NFL Rush Zone, Baby Boomers), Fracture Volume 2 is a follow up to the critically acclaimed story of  Superheroes, Supervillians and multiple personalities.

The City of Lower Triton is a city of heroes with the highflying Virtue first and foremost among them. However, for every hero there must be a villain and Malice, the technological terror, reigns supreme. But what happens when a normal guy named Jeff discovers he’s both?
Now, Jeff tries to move on with his normal, humdrum life, leaving the newly cloned Virtue, with his personality in place to become a full time hero. Virtue tries to protect Lower Triton while Jeff tries to keep his Malice personality at bay, which isn’t easy when he can’t get the drugs he needs! But life in Lower Triton is not normal by a long shot. Who is the newest villain on the scene, Vice? Who are the Croc men? And just how fractured is Jeff’s mind?

All of these answers and more can be found in the pages of Fracture, Volume 2 issue 1, featuring a variant cover by Molly Danger creator Jamal Igle.
Fracture #1 hits shelves on December 18^th at comic shops everywhere.

 For more information, retailers can contact Kelly Dale at kdale@actionlabcomics.com. For press and conventions you can reach Jamal Igle at jigle@actionlabcomics.com.


About Action Lab Entertainment
Formed in 2010 with the purpose of pooling their collective talents into a single, powerful entity, the members of Action Lab Entertainment have countless years in multimedia publishing, design, and business.  Their first release, Fracture, was successfully funded through Kickstarter and since then they have continued their mission to produce high quality, genre-spanning entertainment.
Since its formation, the accolades for A.L.E continue to build on a daily basis.  Among its more popular titles are all ages material like the Eisner, Glyph, Shel Dorf Award nominated series PRINCLESS, NFL RUSHZONE (based on the Nickelodeon Television series), Jamal Igle's MOLLY DANGER, Artist/ Writer Jeremy Dale’s hit series SKYWARD, and Gale Middleton’s (My Little Pony, The Littlest Pet Shop) monstrously adorable VAMPLETS.


Action Lab’s Mature Readers imprint ACTION LAB DANGER ZONE continues to push the envelope of comics entertainment with titles as varied as EHMM THEORY and Dan Mendoza’s over the top horror-comedy ZOMBIE TRAMP, THE FINAL PLAGUE and BO, PLUSHY GANGSTA.
 
For more information on all of their titles, visit www.Actionlabcomics.com