INTERVIEW WITH FANTUM BREED FOUNDER TONY D.

The following is an interview between Fantum Breed  Entertainment founder Tony D. and CBC's own Jeremias de Leon.

Interview by Jeremias de Leon

Jeremias: Today, I'm with Tony D. the founder of Fantum Breed. Hello Tony how are you today?

FantumBreed: I'm doing good thanks for asking. And how are things with you

Jeremias: Good to hear, I'm doing great today actually. It's a sunny day today which we haven't seen in a while.So for my first question, I want to ask about your company, Fantum Breed. Just what inspired you to found it?

Fantum: It was always a dream of mine to be in the entertainment industry. I love comic books,Toys, Video games,cartoons and Movies so i wanted to put together a company that will focus on all the things I love and want to be apart of.

Jeremias: Indeed. Having drive and passion is always something good to have. As for the company itself, what exactly is the mission of the company or what is it that you want to do with it? Are you going to focus on just one thing like publishing?

Fantum: Publishing is one focus but I want to do it all. I want my company to produce comics,create our action figure toy-line and produce video games and cartoons based on our creations.

I also want to do a live action webisodes based on our current comic book series Demolition Dark Age.

Jeremias: Ah, a multifaceted company. How is it like working with the kind of company you're running? What are the challenges, ups and downs with not only publishing but producing videos and video games as well?

Fantum: One of the downs is dealing with unreliable artist and, of course, finance is another part but you can never give up on what your dream and goal is in life.  Getting the proper equipment together is another slightly difficult process but if you have connections, you should be ok.

Jeremias: I know the feeling. So, since this interview is for a comic centric website. My next few questions have to be about comics. First off, is there any current arcs from the other comic publishers you're enjoying?Since this is an interview for a comic book centric site, I have to ask, is there any books recently that you're following?

Fantum: Actually, right now, I've been focusing on writing. I haven't been reading a whole lot but I am definitely going to go to the comic book shop and see what's out there. I will tell you this though; not too long ago, I did pick up the Expendables comic based off the Expendables movie. I haven't read it yet but it's the first thing on my list right now. What I have been doing is I have friend of mine named Don Hyun; he's actually a shaolin monk and olympic gold medalist on the Beijing Wushu team.  He just finished writing a book called Kung Fu-cious. It's about releasing the inner dragon in you, your kung fu consciousness and it is just an absolutely inspiring book. You know, for the Mortal Kombat that came out last year, he did the motion capture for Scorpion. I read the transcript for his book and wow, very good. As for any books coming out right now, I definitely, definitely want to pick up Avengers vs X-Men. It's going to be the next thing I pick up at the comic book shop. Personally, I want to see more of Captain America taking on Cyclops.

Jeremias: On the topic of comic books, who are any current writers or artists that you like?

Fantum: As far as writers are concerned, the writer that it will be an absolute pleasure to work with would actually be James O'Barr, the creator of The Crow. James O'Barr is going to be at Wizard World this year and I'm going to put a story together and pitch him a story that I had wrote a couple years ago that had to do with the Skull Cowboy. Now, if you're a fan of The Crow comic, you'll know it was the Skull Cowboy who sent the bird to help Eric Draven. That is something they never really explained in an origin story. I would love for James O'Barr to let me write a Crow origin story. I would love to. I know exactly what I want to do with a Crow origin story.

As far as art is concerned, there is an artist that I think is fabulous. He's actually a Chicago local his name is Angel Medina. He's actually on our page if you look at him. He's done quite some work for Marvel and DC.

Another great artist I like is Tim Seeley. Tim Seeley has done some great work for Image he did art for He-Man. I recently met Tim at Dan con which is a local convention we have here for Chicago locals. Dan con 2013 will be taking place around March. I would love to see you come out here and attend one of these conventions cousin, have you attended a convention before?

Jeremias: No, but I'm saving up money to go to one this year.

Fantum: You should go. Honestly, it's a different world out there. It's a world that you'll love. You're going to see it and you're going to be like "wow" It's different. Another thing I want to start doing is eventually produce and start up smaller local conventions for local artists. Not charge them an arm and a leg but at the same time gather all of Chicago's greatest talent under one roof at a reasonable price for the visitors and for everybody there promoting their work. It's something I want to put together. I'm telling you this right now; that definitely within the next year or two, it's something that Fantum Breed Entertainment will be doing our own small conventions. We definitely want to be doing that.

Jeremias: So, then speaking of what you're planning what are your future projects that you wish to talk about?

Fantum: My main priority right now with future projects is that I have a comic book coming out called La Femme 9mm; which is based on, actually my wife, her name is Rosa Hernandez. She basically created this character which is an alter ego. When you're on our Facebook page; whenever you see a post that says Rosa Professor 9mm, it's an alter ego that she's creating for herself.

That character is called Professor 9, who is basically a supernatural assassin that runs a group called La Femme 9mm that has 9 other girls under her command. Each one of her assassins has a special ability, a special skill or a special supernatural talent that allows them to be a part of her elite group of female assassins and hit men called La Femme 9mm. They are also guardians of this weapon called the Soulbreaker; which is a supernatural weapon of mass destruction. It's a weapon created by both the demon king Erubis and the lord of light as well. It's a tie-in to my story Demolition Dark Age. It's a story of it's own kind but there is a small little tie-in as well.

Jeremias: So these stories are in the same universe?

Fantum: Same universe, different characters with a small tie-in to the story. (Demoliton Dark Age)

Jeremias: So, you not only want to publish comics but also want to do other things? Like a web series?

Fantum: Well, I would like to do La Femme 9mm as a web series but right now, with La Femme 9mm, we're going to focus on the comic book and we got some other things going on with it. Like a pin up calendar, we'll have some beautiful women modeling and hopefully, showing up to conventions dressed  up like those characters. Another thing we're going to be focusing on, the first web series I would like to do will be based on Demolition Dark Age. I mean, the story of Demolition Dark Age is really crazy. The story with that is basically Dracula joins the federal government because he's at war with the devil. He's trying to locate the last living descendant of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. But what's going on is the devil, who is known as Demon King Erubis, is trying to break free from his prison which was created by the original horsemen of the apocalypse keeping him in a timeless prison. He's found a loophole to break out of there but in order for him to do that he needs to collect the last living descendants of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Or at least one to let him free of that gate of the prison that he is in. Which is basically shadowverse. It's basically oblivion. That's where he is right now and he's trying to break free from there.

Now, while this is going on you also have Methra; who is basically the general of the devil's army but he's basically living in modern times. He runs the Chinese Triads in Honk Kong. It's a real crazy story. It has to do with both mythologies and supernatural, as well as things that go on in modern life. One of the horsemen of the apocalypse; his name is Trent Lugano, is actually a muscleman for the mob. So, it's crazy because they're all living their own crazy lives.

So, it's how do you grab a story of chaos and bring it together with crazy fictional and realistic characters? Pretty crazy huh? *laughs*

So, imagine that wouldn't that make for a cool web series? It has martial arts. It has supernatural elements. It has horror, action and sci-fi elements in it too. So, it has everything combined into one, as well as humor.

Jeremias: So then, since it seems we ought to wrap this up. We both have busy schedules. Where can everybody find you and check your stuff out?

Fantum: Well, you can check us out at Facebook; look up FantumBreed. FantumBreed.com will be up and running in about three weeks. You can also find FantumBreed on twitter, we're also on twitter and if anything you can also e-mail me at tonyd@fantumbreed.com

There's a lot of things coming up right now. We're also going to be creating a like page for La Femme 9mm that will be coming in the next few weeks as well. We also have an amazing artist that's going to be jumping on that project his name is Tim Jansen a very talented, wonderful, and amazing artist. He actually recently did a comic book with a talented writer named Ivan James which is called The Awakened. A couple of good projects coming up.

If you want to be in the comic book industry, most major cities right now is where you want to be. Like Philadelphia, and Boston of course.

Jeremias: Thanks again for talking with me today.

Fantum: Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you giving me the time for this interview. Thanks for wanting to interview me, I appreciate that very much. 

UNDER THE NET # 13: Backwood Folk

Under the Net with Jake Estrada

Backwood Folk

Welcome to the 13^th  edition of Under the Net.  

I will be rating the elements of the book on a scale of one through five.

One is poor, two is mediocre, three is fair, four is good, and five is excellent.

Hello everyone, hopefully everyone is doing well. Well, I am back on the well with the web comics that are being produced out there by all types of creators. If you don’t know this by now, I love comics and all their forms from the printed form to the digital form. You can’t discount any comic whether it is in color or black and white. Even some stick figure comics hold value. It all depends on the type of story you are trying to tell.

The recent web comic I am looking into is called Backwood Folk. It is set in a small town called Po’Dunk Arkansas, and it is about a bunch of folk that come in and out of the comic with the main character returning to the town of his birth after living in the big city for a decade. Of course, when you look at this premise, you think of rednecks and other types of hicks, but what you get here is a fun adventure that has very human qualities that all people have.

The comic is written and drawn by Gustav Carlson, and he has been very committed to the comic thus far. J

The Art

The art takes me back to some classic art, and the colors are lush and very simple. I love the fact that it has a feeling that it has been done in water color. I know I was taken aback and I enjoyed the art very much. Some could complain that it was not very realistic, but that was not a problem because it fit very well with this comic and its tone. I think this made it a much easier read on me because it was not constrained to be littered with realism.

ART: 4 STARS

The Writing

I like how Benedict comes back to his grandparents’ land and tries to make sense of his life, and how the story places out. The story gives the characters a sense of character, and they have great qualities about them. What makes the story good to me is that every person out there has a tale to tell about how they want to leave and make their own lives, but something happens that forces them to come back and be cast back under this great shadow of doubt. Well, the story feels like a coming of age tale. It’s a story where someone wanted to move on, but his past kept pulling him back. This works well and I enjoyed it.

WRITING: 4 STARS

Originality

What I particularly liked about this comic was the fact it was about a small and about these folks that most people would just write off, but this is real life. There are all sorts of people, and everyone isn’t some person in a suit, and it covers a genre that is hardly ever presented in modern comics, and I love it for that. It is original and it is upbeat and, for the most part, it is a fun web comic.

ORIGINALITY: 5 STARS

The Pros

I love the art; I love the images on the page. It makes the story flow and go by very fast. I think it is fun, and most of all, I love the coloring job. In a day where most colors in comics are muted, muddy, and with art so rendered that it takes away from the entire comic, this comic takes me back to a time when all art wasn’t the same, and this has that breath of freshness and excitement and, like I said, it works well with the comic. J

The Cons

I have only one issue was the text, at times it was very hard to read. My eyes would actually hurt after a while since the type font was very stylized. If Gustav went with a clearer font that wasn’t so abusive to one’s eye, it would be great. After a while that font drove me crazy as I read the book. I know plenty of people are put off by weird font and won’t read it. We are talking about lazy comic types out there. I could see a major distributor losing its mind on the type font.

My Final Word

If you want a comic that has a feeling of classic TV, good wholesome fun, and takes you back to the time of the Beverley Hillbillies; this is the comic for you. The comic is fun, and you should check it out here:

http://www.backwoodfolk.com/

The web comic updates weekly on Tuesday and Thursdays, so check it out folks.

Enjoy folks!

Jake Estrada

Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. Thanks.

Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.

INTERVIEW WITH SAJAD SHAH

Interview by Frankie Rodriguez 

Here is the interview Frankie had with artist Sajad Shah of Hound Comics.

1. To our readers who many not know, tell us about Brimstone & the Borderhounds and how you get the job working on that book? 

I actually received an email from BRIMSTONE ( retired pro-wrestler ) after he saw some of my work on line.  He broke down an idea he and a friend, Marcello Carnevalli, had about wanting to do a comic book.  They basically gave me the idea which I thought was very clever and I jumped on it.  That’s how we all pretty much met. That’s pretty much how we met and the book Brimsone& the Border Hounds came about.  It is the first title published under Hound Comics label. It’s a story about hell but not your normal hell story if that makes any sense. Here’s a quick run ..

Whatever you believe the afterlife to be, whether its Hell, Heaven, Eden, Nirvana, etc….they ar eall there in the afterlife, however as corporations. These corporations purchase your soul after you die and your used as commodity.  The Borderhounds are actually bounty hunters for hell….from that you have different crews who are after the same bounty and pardon the pun but from that, all "hell" breaks lose. 

Weve been lucky enough to be distributed nationwide Thru Barnes & Noble, BookWorld and B. Dalton and worldwide on amazon and ofcourse, houndcomics.com. were on issue # 6 in stores right now and I’m currently penciling issue #8. 

2. You've been drawing Brimstone for a while now; how do you feel about your work on it as an artist? Do you think you evolved? 

I definitely feel I’ve evolved.  I used to simply like comic books for the art.  Now, I actually pay attention to page layout and try and see why the artist did it this way.  We’ve been told by fans that our book has gotten better with each issue and I think you can tell were figuring out certain things in the creative process to make the book more visually appealing to the reader.  My goal as an artist is to simply always get better and if people are telling me that this is the case with every book, than I’m a happy guy...

3. Out of all the characters you have drawn on Brimstone  & the Borderhounds, who are among your favorites? 

I enjoy drawing Luscious because he is such a vibrant character. He’s huge, you really cant draw him wrong haha .  Also, throughout the book I’ve had to come up with various creatures of sorts so doing that has been fun as well !

4. From your bio, you started out majoring in Electric Engineering. What made you decided that you wanted to be an illustrator? 

As a kid, I would always draw, it was just in me.  Throughout school, I drew; High School and even college during class.  Somehow, I actually graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering.  I always wanted to be an artist but it was drilled in my head by my parents that I should have something to fall back on.  I’m lucky enough to draw comics now and hopefully this is just the beginning.

5. Who are some of your influences on your work artistically? 

I remember growing up, Saturday mornings were the best! I would wake up with my 2 older brothers and we would just watch cartoons and each of us would have a clipboard trying to draw….i think that stuck with me and they’ve influenced me in ways that they don’t even know. Yes, all my brothers draw well. I have 2 older bros and 1 younger.  As far as influences in the industry, I’m a huge fan of Jim Lee work. He's probably had the biggest imprint on me. Not to mention Greg Capullo, JS Campbell, Travis Charest, Ryan Ottley and Mark Silvestri. There are countless other artists whose work I admire as well...

6. You are also a Vice President in Hound Comics. How do you handle juggling the roles of VP & artist? 

It ain’t easy but having my partners allows me to focus on the visual side of the CO and when my input is needed, Brim and Marcello will let me know. We’re a pretty tight unit and I think it wouldn’t work if we weren’t. 

 

7. So, what have been some of the comics that you have enjoyed recently? 

Lately I’ve really been into Greg’s run on Batman, Ryan Ottley’s INVINCIBLE and I know it’s not a comic book but Jim Lees ICONS book is fantastic.

8. Any characters that you would love to work on? Any creators you have always wanted to work with? 

I grew up on the main superheroes( Spiderman, Batman, Superman, HULK etc ) so those would be amazing to somehow have a crossover with. Haha, who knows! One day, I would love to be able say I sat with Jim and had a conversation about art. We once had a back and forth over twitter but in person would be amazing... just to pick his brain on a few things here and there. 

9. So what can we look forward to from you & Hound Comics this year? 

            Well, we’ve only been in business for about a year and half and we’ve accomplished so much.  We currently have over 20 people on the team working on different things and hopefully, we’re going to just grow.  We’ve started to publish other titles under Hound Comics label; such as "The Protector" and "M3", which are both great books and I highly recommend readers to check ‘em out. On top of that, Hound also does a few other things….we recently published "My GIANT"; which is a children’s book by Peter Mayhew ( CHEWBACA from STAR WARS). Another children’s book called "Turbie the Turtleduck" by Rich Aarons ( who worked cartoons like HE-MAN, SHE-RA, ANIMANIACS, TINY TOONS and many other cartoons ). We’ve recently brought on artist Terry Naughton, who was a DISNEY ANIMATOR for over 17 years. He worked on such cartoons as Beauty and the Beast and the Little Mermaid.  He will be working on projects to be released as well.  Another comic book that we will be working on this year is a comic based on BUMBLEFOOT ( lead guitarist from GUNS-N-ROSES ), that will be a lotta fun !

            We’ve also been blessed to be sponsored by COPIC MARKERS, AUTODESK SKETCHBOOK PRO ( who have both been a pleasure to work with ) and just recently announced that we will be partnering with EASTSPORT to produce Border Hound book bags which will be available nationwide. Along with the book bags, Hound Comics along with BUMBLEFOOT and EASTPORT will be launching guitar cases for the musician! These will be Bumblefoot’s line of cases and we’re stoked.

            HoundComics is pretty excited with everything going on and looking fwd to everything to come.  We travel the convention circuit; so, if were in your area, please stop by and say hello !! We’d love to show you what we got! 

10. Any advice for aspiring artists? Anything you want to tell our readers? 

            If you want to be an artist, it’s pretty much a way of life.  You’re constantly drawing trying to get better.  Go to conventions, talk to the artists and get input on your portfolio. When I’m approached at conventions, I try to be as honest as possible and sometimes, I can tell the artist didn’t want to hear certain things. That tells me he didn’t want to get better and just wanted a pat on the back. Another mistake is to think you only need to know how to do pinups and covers…..story telling is a major part of drawing comic books.  That’s something that comes with time and practice and I’m still learning as I go. When showing a portfolio, be open to criticism because it will only help you get better.

Lastly, if there's any one who wants to learn more about us they can visit us on houndcomics.com where you cam even submit your book and publish through us if approved.  Also I'm on Facebook as well as twitter and deviant art....

Thank you so much Sajad.

UNDER THE NET SPECIAL EDITION: JOHN PROPHET IS AWAKE!

Under the Net with Jake Estrada

Special Edition

John Prophet is Awake

Back Story

When the title hero Prophet appeared in Youngblood # 2, he wore a purple suit with a warrior’s face plate along with larger than life pouches and shoulder pads that appeared to weigh a ton.  He was a time traveling hero who would go to sleep in a cryogenic stasis chamber. Prophet had awakened, and he was ready to fight off the enemy. Prophet was a creation of Dr. Wells that originally was supposed to be a tool made for Phillip Omen, but Dr. Wells thought otherwise and instilled Prophet to be a hero and to love God.

This made Prophet a proper hero, someone that fought the good fight, and he would combat evil on many different fronts along with his pal and sidekick Kirby.

Prophet made several appearances; he was a primer hero for then Extreme Studios, which was Rob Liefield’s flagship part of Image comics. Of course, Image had an issue eventually with Rob and they kicked him out of the company, which booted Prophet for the most part, and he was not seen again.

Prior to being booted, there was an artist that made Prophet truly famous besides Liefield drawing and creating him in Youngblood. Prophet had his own series and he started with his purple suit, but before long we were introduced to Stephen Platt’s version of Prophet that was larger than life with huge nasty machine guns, and this Prophet had spiky hair and was off the chain.

Stephan Platt drew us a Prophet that took no crap and he was diesel as all can be, and in some cases, he was so muscular it made readers wonder how he could even move his limbs.

No matter what you could say, you knew that Prophet was a Cable reject. He had all the same trappings as Cable, a time displaced hero that would appear at a time of need that took out the bad guys. If it were the future, the past, Prophet was there. He was the ultimate time traveler, and he took no one’s crap.

But as I stated, that all came to an end. Part of me thought Prophet was over; we would never see him again, and he was just a minor footnote in comic history like so many other characters.

Well, flash forward to Jan 2012 when Prophet #21 was released. The world was going to get their Prophet on in a bold new direction.

As in previous appearances, Prophet awakens from his stasis chamber, and when he awakens he is on earth that is very foreign to him. Humans are nowhere to be seen, animals have evolved, and some of the species have mutated due to being mixed with extraterristal life forms. So John Prophet awakens, and his mission is simple. He has to restart the human empire.

 You see this bold new direction as Prophet goes from one location to another, killing creatures and eating them, and boy, I must say that this Prophet eats a lot.

The writer, Brandon Graham, has truly created a lush world for this new world we have entered. For instance, there is a Jell city that many of the said aliens live in. They suffer along with Prophet trying to reach the G.O.D Satellite that orbited nearby the Towers of Thauliu Vah, which had an electromagnetic lock onto the Satellite.

Spoilers below.

 I must say that the way the story plays out pretty much has you just along for the ride. You aren’t getting fed the story, and it leaves you wondering where this adventure is going to leave you. Before you know it, you are in the heart of the story in issue #23 where Prophet gets onto the G.O.D Satellite, gets into a small melee combat with an alien that had been tracking him for several pages, and finally gets assistance from a hooded figure. When it is all over, Prophet is confronted by many other lookalikes, and he places his hand onto the Control Panel inside the G.O.D Satellite. He activates the Satellite, and he restarts the human empire once more. He really awakens and spreads his knowledge to all the John Prophets across the galaxy. Yes, I said all the John Prophets out there are the human colony to repopulate the cosmos. That tells us that John Prophet is and has been a series of clones since the beginning.

This also leaves a lingering question because, like I said, Brandon Graham has his artist draw a panel where there are skeletal remains of a person on a command-like enterprise chair, and the remains have this spiky-haired guy with huge shoulder pads, with a faceplate, and appears larger than life. What this illustration tells me is that this is the Prophet that we followed in the original Youngblood series; the one that we learned to like in the early to mid-1990s, but who was now dead. That’s how this series has been linked to its past.

I thought it was an intelligent way to tell fans the past did matter, but this was a new day and world for Prophet. We finally got a little sense of closure from the past series, and it also tells us this entire time Prophet wasn’t a time traveler and hadn’t been sleeping. He has just been a clone forever, and he would appear when he had a new mission to complete.

Issue #24 of Prophet starts with another John Prophet awakening, but this time in a spaceship far in the human empire colony. When this Prophet awakens, there is a huge mess on the deck as there are pods of other Prophets that are dead and never had a chance to awaken to try to live their lives.

 This Prophet is given a task that he must complete by crossing the ship known as the Sleepingman and come face to face with a creature that looks eerily familiar in appearance. Oh, did I tell you that this version of Prophet has a tail? Yes, I said tail. I loved this series as I saw this new Prophet talk to a small hologram girl that fed him his objective and guided him through the ship that was filled with radiation. As he finally came to the close of this story, he had to fight the creature that looked like someone he knew.

This creature was another version of Prophet that had awakened and tried to reach the end of the Sleepingman but failed as the tailed version of Prophet fought and defeated the mutated, radiated version. Once our tailed Prophet finished his fight, he got out of the ship, and he used Star Skin to travel to the vessel he was trying to reach. When he finally got to his objective, which was the planet below, he was greeted by other Prophet versions with a huge face-like creature that almost appeared to be wearing the old Prophet faceplate. Of course, I am left wondering what is going on here, but I do have to admit that Graham has been captivating, and I am wondering where all of this is going.

I just like the fact that there are many Prophets. This is the end of the human race, and they all carry a similar face and they all awaken for a particular mission. Our hero happens to be a man that may be more than one man. I like this very fresh take, and I love all the sci-fi elements that are being thrown together here. The story never feels forced, and it is a very brisk read.

Jake Estrada

Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. I’m always looking to review underground comics, and web comics.  Thanks.

Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.

VALEN THE OUTCAST Review #1-3

Valen the Outcast #1-3 Review

by Darryll YTC Carter

Writter

Michael Alan Nelson

Artist

Matteo Scalera

Colors

Archie Van Buren

Letters

Ed Dukeshire

Publisher

Boom! Studios

         Over the weekend, your beloved CBC editor-in-chief dropped off some comics during a friendly Saturday gathering of Dungeons and Dragons. When he presented me with Valen the Outcast, I didn’t think much of it. The cover looked okay, I had never really read a Boom! Studios book before and the chick on the cover was hot. I didn’t know what to expect. But what I got was a delightful treat and a great read.

         Valen the Outcast is the story of well… Valen, former King of Oakhaven turned undead abomination and his quest to retrieve his soul from the evil and nefarious necromancer, Korrus Null. The exact details behind Valen’s rebirth into the ‘unlife’ have yet to be revealed by issue three. However, it is apparent that after a hard battle with the army of Korrus Null, Valen’s army was quelled and he was defeated and turned into an undead minion to under the necromancer’s control. Through, presumably (unless it is a hidden ploy at the hands of Null), the sheer force of will, Valen’s personality overpowered the spell over him. With the help from Zjanna and Cordovan, Valen makes sets out on a trek for Wraithendal and his soul.

        VTO follows the classic pattern of a hero who embarks on a journey and picks up companions on the way. These companions may hate him or feel indifferent toward him at first, but come the end game, they will be loyal in one manner or another. VTO actually reminds me of an rpg, roleplaying game. It has a D&D and Dragon Age feel to its atmosphere. It could be the medieval setting, in a fantasy world of swords and magic. But I think it really comes down to the characters.

         Valen is the leader and an ox of a man. He’s very tank like in appearance and personality. He prefers to attack things head on and would rather shrug off a blow then outright evade it. His undead disposition… gives him the ability to shrug off more than the average man. The only way to put him down permanently is to sever his head or pierce his heart. Combine that with the military mind of a warrior king and you get fine inventions like heart armor. Possibly my favorite part of the three books; Valen has a blacksmith forge him a device built to his specifications that he employs as a orb of armor for his heart. That’s just badass. Then you have Cordovan, who is a seedy, sly and witty drunkard. He is the rogue of the group, with connections to the shadier side of the world and excels with daggers and knives. Lastly, is Zjanna who I presumed was skilled in magic. She separates the link between Valen and Null, an act equivalent to taking the ring off Frodo’s finger, preventing Sauron from seeing him. Zjanna comes off more as a ranger like character, one skilled in the hunt, traps and tracking.

        So far the series has been awesome and it held my attention more than anything else I’ve read in the past two weeks. Accept maybe Suicide Squad. The art fits the tale and Scalera does a great job of capturing the scenery, the gore and the overall atmosphere of this world. But the real star here is the writing.  Valen the Outcast gets a 4 out of 5 and I look forward to following this series down the brimstone brick road.

TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE - LIARS A TO D REVIEW

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye

Issues 1 – 3

Liars A to D (Parts 1-3)

Written by James Roberts

Art by Nick Roche & Alex Milne

Colors by Josh Burcham

IDW Publishing

TALE OF THE TAPE

            Let’s go back. IDW is the latest company to hold the Transformers franchise and has done a lot with it since taking it over. First, we had a bunch of miniseries: Infiltration, Escalation, Devastation, Stormbringer, Maximum Dinobots. Then we got things like Transformers: Spotlight. They reprinted War Within and a bunch of UK stories (which are awesome.). Then we had the epic All Hail Megatron which in turn lead to the recently ended Transformers ongoing they had. And while the majority of the miniseries took place on Earth, there were glimpses of Cybertron and other planets. Which comes to our current state . .. the recently ended Chaos and Police Action storylines.  

            Before leaving Earth, fear of Transformers, no matter the faction, was at an all time high. The United States had developed mecha of their own to take down any Autobot and Decepticon, reversed engineered from other Transformers. Optimus Prime had stepped down as leader of the Autobots and turned himself to the United States’s group, Skywatch, which is under the command of Spike Witwicky.  Hot Rod was leading a bunch of Autobots … and some Decepticons on building a ship but things turned sour as the Stunticons were assembled and formed Devastator. Hot Rod escaped Earth to meet up with Starscream, taking back the Matrix, which he had since the end of All Hail Megatron.  

            Bumblebee had become the leader of the Autobots and while undermined at first by Prowl and Ultra Magnus at first, soon came up to be a capable leader. After Megatron returned with a plan that used guns fashioned like his G1 self that mind controlled humans. The plan stopped but not without Jazz killing a human, who he thought was still mind controlled and about to kill Bumblebee. Then the Scrapper ended up dead and no one knew way. So, Police Action covered the investigation that lead to Spike using the Autobots in order to get more advanced tech and killed Scrapper. Meanwhile, A threat to Cyberton had loomed as Hot Rod returned, with the Matrix, Wheelie, Ironhide (who we thought had died in the first issue), Sunstreaker and another alien. They told of the threat of Galvatron coming with an army.

            The Autobots went to space, heading back to Cybertron as Galvatron came, stating a threat called D-Void was coming. And it did … using Galvatron as a pawn. All Decepticons, save for Galvatron, Cyclonus & Megatron fell to the sway of D-Void … becoming a giant composite being. Optimus Prime used the Matrix to stop it … but left it empty.

            After Chaos ended,  many Cybertronians who had left, not wanting to be involved in the war between Autobot or Decepticon, began a mass exodus to return to Cybertron. Yet, they immediately were against Autobot government they had installed. Bumblebee, Prowl, Ultra Magnus and the other Autobots on Earth joined the rest on Cybertron  .. . leaving Earth … seemingly forever. 

            The Non alined Cybertronians, nicknamed Nails, continued to protest against the Autobots as the remaining Decepticons were locked up. Leader of the Nails, Metalhawk continued to point out how the Autobots and the Decepticons ruined Cybertron. Optimus, wanting the Nails to accept the Autobots and bring piece, decided to put himself in exile, returning to the name of Orion Pax after giving one half of the now dead Matrix to Bumblebee and the other half to Rodimus.

 And now … here we go.

CLASH FACTS

            Our story begins with Rodimus talking about the past, standing on the site where the original Ark had left and the fabled Knights of Cybertron. Oh yes … back during the on-going, right before Chaos, the Knights of Cybertron were mentioned several times. They are said to be these legendary Cybertronians who went out into the universe to make a peaceful home for their people. Oddly enough, they were lead by Transformers: Zone lead, Dai-Atlas. But I digress.

            Rodimus goes on about how he was gonna lead an expedition on the ship called the Lost Light and that the Autobots worked hard fighting the war but the Nails do not appreciate everything they’ve done. That it was time to stop fighting and leave their world in search of their ultimate destiny … blah blah … to share is to care and to care is to share. WHOA!!! Creepy Transformers flashback there. Excuse me.

            Wheeljack muses on how Rodimus is working the crowd while Prowl states he already knows that this whole set up is gonna end up being a non-event. And he couldn’t be more wrong. The next dozens of Autobots are lined up to board the ship. A non-event huh? Good one Prowl. I wonder what else you are gonna do wrong today.

            Meanwhile, Rachet explains to Bubblebee how a Nail died protesting the Autobot government by transforming . . . continuously till he kill himself. .. even getting a little shock when the Nail transforms one last time to vehicle mode.

            Rachet: Relax. It’s just a reflex action. Rigor Morphis. The dead body assumes its preferred shape. And yeah, sometimes it’s the alt mode.

            That’s . . . just morbid. Anyway, Rachet goes on about him getting too old. That his hands are seizing up. Then goes into complete silence.

To Share is to care and to care is to share . . .

To Share is to care and to CARE is to SHARE . ..

            I SAID COMPLETE SILENCE!!!

             . ..

            Rachet tells Bubblebee that he’s leaving. And Bubblebee handles it with the kind of grace you expect from the bot.  Hahaha. Who am I kidding? He was in complete denial. Bumblebee goes on to saying that he’s needed here, going over the fact that he’s saved the life of every Prime since Nominus; which I am guessing is at least 2 or 3 before Optimus cause I believe Sentinel was his predecessor. When Rachet says that he’s been Chief Medical Officer too long, Bumblebee resorts to looking like he’s panicking (btw, I forgot to mention earlier, when Bumblebee was hurt during the ongoing, he started using a cane. He still is.) and accusing Rodimus of seeking him out. Also, continuing in his childish rant, Bumblebee states that Drift writes Rodimus’s material. Rachet replies that it is not about the destination but the journey and that Rodimus promised to pick up waifs and strays along the way. That he can find himself a successor on the trip.

            In a different, deserted section of Cybertron, Cyclonus . .. yes Cyclonus lements over the loss of parts of Cybertron he loved, thinking about how he has a new lease on life after being ejected from Vector Sigma (aka Primus aka the All Spark aka Transformers’ GOD) as he relents he picks up a familiar signal that  . . . We’ll get back to this later. Hehehe

            Back on Autobot Headquarters, Prowl is having a discussion with Chromedown and Rewind. Prowl goes on to saying, and he admits he can’t believe it, that Rodimus was able to get over 200 hundred Autobots to join him. Ah .. . asphalt not tasting so good there Prowl? Prowl then says he’s glad that those Autobots are leaving cause their useless to him . . .

            Chromedome: Even Rachet?

            Prowl ignores that comment to say that he can’t make due without Chromedome and his talents. Prowl then asks Rewind, who is Chromedome’s best friend, to stop him.  First, we get whining from Bubblebee. Now we got Prowl acting just as childish trying to use Chromedome’s best friend. Oh Prime, how the mighty have fallen. Prowl noticing that Rewind is recording and tells him to stop but Rewind says that this conversation could have big repercussions and that he’s an archivist anyway. Chromedome blasts back how he’s done things for Autobot Cause that he … doesn’t mention but it seems it wasn’t pretty. Chromedome and Rewind walk away . . . which causes Prowl to flip over his desk. Our second-in command of the Autobots ladies and gentlemen.  So, Prowl, in this issue thus far: 

            -has looked down on hundreds of Autobots.

            -Demeaning Rodimus and other Autobots for their choice to leave.

            Pretty much said that the other Autobots, except for Chromedome, were useless to him.

            -Tried to be manipulative by using Rewind as a way to keep Chromedome here.

            -Alienated himself from the Autobots leaving by insulting them.

            -Insulted Rewind by not saying how vital he is as well.

            -And thrown a temper tantrum for not getting what he wanted.

            And this is only page 7 of the first issue. *facepalm*  So yeah. Prowl is full of wrong and douche here. Well, at least it’s not going to get any worse. Oh wait … Prowl is contacting someone (we don’t see who) about making modifications and loading the cargo. And that he’s always serious. Uh oh.

            We cut to 6 Million years ago, where a Cybertronian … looks like a Nail named Tailgate is stuck in a cave with 2 energon cubes, separated trailer … and NO legs. Looks like they were destroyed by the fall. Tailgate does a self diagonostic which calls him an Idiot.

 *laughs hard for 5 minutes*

            I am serious. His reading states:

            Preliminary Damage Report: YOU’RE AN IDIOT

*laughs again*

            And we cut to an Autobot, Whirl, who is seemingly talking to himself about how he needed to have this downtime and was happy to unload his frustrations … while holding a light. Hmm . ..

            He goes on about how being kicked off the Wreckers pissed him off but how he/she/it … we haven’t seen them yet … have been a big help but it is on to bigger and better things … while holding a light.

            The light that Cyclonus sees following a familiar signal that he had picked up earlier. Which leads to Cyclonus seeing the broken, tortured bodies of the Sweeps and maybe Scourage, strung up on the walls like slabs of meat. Cyclonus gets tackled but leaves … with Whirl hot on his tail.

            Meanwhile, on the ship, the Lost Light … wow. I guess that is significant. I guess they fell they are the missing light of the Circle of Light aka the Knights of Cybertron. *shrugs* Red Alert is head of security on the Lost Light, checking over people.  Red Alert wants to look at baggage that Brainstorm was gonna bring on but Brainstorm shows that he’s exempt from security checks. Even showing an id with the classic rubsign that used to be on the toys. Nice touch.

            After that, Red Alert asks who is next when we hear someone say “Megatron.” But it ends up being the Autobot Swerve. Rung is about to board the ship next with a bunch of model kits. Red Alert asks how Rung has kept them for so long.

            Rung: I guess I have a knack for keeping out of harm’s –

            And gets his arm severed. Ah … I love this already. This is one of those books that when you say something, you might just invoke some kind of divine wraith.

            On the bridge of the ship, we see our great commander talking with his second and third in command: Ultra Magnus and Drift respectively. Drift goes over the Autobots who have come thus far. And our captain deals with it with the décor we have come to expect from great captains like: Kirk, Picard, Solo, Reynolds or D’argo.

            Rodimus: Oh yes. Stick that up your exhaust, Bubblebee. You know, when I gave that ‘Gun In Your Hand’ speech I - . . . never imagined so many would sign up. Two hundred and eight? That’s amazing. That’s gotta be some sort of record.”

            Our captain, ladies and gentlemen. Obviously, it seems that Autobot leadership didn’t get past the pre-teen phase. After that wonderful reaction, Drift hands over the list to Ultra Magnus who … well, goes down the list and says something bad about at least ten of the Autobots that boarded. He states that he should be the one at the entrance of the ship to make sure they don’t have any riff-raff.

Great … childish like leader .. . gruffy, stick in the mud second in command. Oh, this ship is gonna be in for some great times ahead.

            We get Cyclonus and Whirl duking it out while Rachet, Chromedome and Rewind walking quickly to the ship. Chromedome states to Rewind that if he were to transform into a decent alt mode other that his memory stick, they’d be on the ship by now. Rewind states that every form has a purpose.

            Rachet: Yeah? Tell that to Sky Lynx.

            Cyclonus crashes in front of them with Whirl ready to go in for the kill. Rachet, tries to stop him cause Cyclonus is knocked out but Whirl begins to go … kinda crazy. Yet it is stopped by an explosion … that burns Whirl and knocks him down. Chromedome, Rachet and Rewind pick up something from a cave and its … Tailgate! Yes. TAILGATE! Who’s been in the hole for like … 6 MILLION YEARS!!! He looks at Whirl, going into panic for hurting him … then goes unconscious.

            The ship is about to launch as Ultra Magnus tells Rodimus that a call is coming in from Bubblebee. Rodimus does not take it and they blast off, with Bubblebee and Prowl watching.

            Bumblebee: I thought you said you had a plan.

            And EXPLOSION!!!

            And they all died. The book ends and …

            To share is to care and to care is to share . .. to share is to care and to care is to share . . . to share is to care to care is to …

            SHUT UP!!!

            Actually, that is not the end as the Lost Light hyperjumped during that explosion.

            HOLD ON ONE MINUTE! SO … now we can add sabotage, smuggling, subterfuge and attempted murder to PROWL’S rap sheet. Really Prowl? REALLY? You would stoop to blowing up and/or sabotaging the ship just cause you did not get your way.

            Meanwhile in a galaxy far, far away. The Lost Light is trying to stabilize as Rodimus finds out there’s been a breach and 40 Autobots were sucked out of the breach and falling into a near by planetoid.  Rodimus proclaims that no one else dies on his watch and lands the ship on the planetoid to look for the missing Autobots. While Rodimus, Ultra Magnus and some of the others look for their missing shipmates, Brainstorm reports while the explosion happened. It seems that one of the Duobots were next to the generator as it was going through hyper jump … aka Warp Speed aka Starburst.

            As the crew of the Lost Light help their own, another ship comes out of hyper jump. We get introduced to Skids as he goes through inner monologue to find out that he has amnesia. He thinks he’s escaped. But on the wall behind him states that he has NOT escaped. Skids takes out a mode lock then jumps off the ship. The ship crashes … to reveal  2 robots with huge swords that … keep saying 1984.

            Hmm … 1984 the book?

            Probably the year cause 1984 is when Transformers debuted and were created.

            Back on the Lost Light, Rung is in the medback with Whirl still knocked out on another table. Rung is getting his arm fixed by Rachet. Rung goes on and on about how well known Rachet is to the Autobots and how he’s touch is light as a feather  … until we see Rachet hammer his own arm to keep it working. They look over to the other table where Tailgate is … carbon dating him. After finishing up with Rung, Rachet admits that he would not made not fixing Whirl right away. As Rung is about to leave, Whirl grabs his neck. Rung reminds him that he’s his psychistrist and that if Whirl does not behave, he’s off to prison forever. And that Ultra Magnus would see to it. Whirl stops and walks away.

            Swerve enters the Medical bay as Rachet moves on to Tailgate. Tailgate ask if Nova Prime on board and Rachet is about to tell him what happened when Swerve begs to tell Tailgate and  . . . well

            Tailgate: Six Million Years?!

            Skids is fighting off the two robots as best he can … using the dead bodies of the last two missing Autobots to do so. Rodimus and Cyclonus have a heart to heart, stating how Cyclonus attached himself to the hull and hoped for the best. Cyclonus goes on about how Cybertron he knew is gone and that something inferior has taken its place and wants a new start. Rodimus agrees for him to join the crew and Ultra Magnus comes in with Whirl, threatening to demolish him if he screws up. Whirl tries to make by-gones be by-gones with Cyclonus … as the Decepticon hugs Whirl.  Cyclonus lowly promises to kill Whirl one day.

            Skids can’t use his wepons in battle due to some interesting claw but when Chromedome, Swerve, Rewind and Tailgate find him, they remove the claw and Skids gets all his weapons back. Swids than proceeds to prove his bada**-ness by taking down the two Robots with swords … by himself. Swerve immediately asks if he was a former Wrecker, a pit fighter or elite warrior. Skids says that he’s a theoretician.

            Rodimus tells how sorry he is to lose the 2 Autobots who died but that they will continue their question. And that is when Red Alert calls him to say that there is a Sparkeater on board. We get a quick flash back to the Duobots brother, Shock, looking at the now dead body of Ore. Shock covers up Ore’s tracks as a spy for Prowl   . ..

            REALLY? More Prowl crap. Grrr. Things like this are why I like Rodimus. And I don’t care what Chris Ryons & Kyousuke Tsunaga say  … RODIMUS IS NOT A DECEPTICON!!

            Shock is about to get the tracker that Ore was supposed to put on the engine when . . . we see a claw like hand scratch through the door. We see Shock opening his mouth … a weird ball that looks like a mini Cybertron getting thrown out. Then his chest being ripped open as he spark floats out.

            We get back to the present where Rodimus thinks that its cool that a Sparkeater is aboard. Rodimus orders all but Rachet, Chromedome, Trailbreaker, Ultra Magnus & Drift to pair up and stay in their quarters. As everyone leaves, we see Tailgate ask for help … cause he’s got no legs again.

            Wait. Wait. Wait . .. *flips through issue 2 of TF: MTMTE* He had legs again last issue. Oh come on!!!

            Cyclonus picks up Tailgate and takes him to a suite. Meanwhile, Rodimus, the party he chosen plus Rewind, meet up with Red Alert to look over Shock’s dead body. Trailerbreaker and Red Alert go on about how Sparkeaters were considered myth. They figure out that Shock had VOMITED OUT HIS OWN BRAIN … yeah, the little mini-cybertron thing … that was Shock’s Brain. Rachet confirms from his examination that it is a Sparkeater while Rodimus looks to Chromedome for a second opinion.

            And we get to see what Chromedome’s special talent is … he’s a Mnemosurgeon. He can gain access to the last few minutes of a Cybertronian’s life by going through their memories … while the Brain is still attacked to the head. Chromedome reattaches said brain and gets our first look into the Sparkeater.

            Cyclonus drops Tailgate in as we find out that he has not lost his legs again … he is just stuck between his Alt mode and his robot mode. *laughs* Poor thing. 

            Skids is with Swerve and Skids decides to leave the room and investigate. Meanwhile, Rodimus splits up his group into teams to go after the Sparkeater. Whirl ignores the pound on his door by his roommate … only to see that his roommate becomes the latest victim to the Sparkeater. Whirl attacks it … using missiles. Trailbreaker stops and holds the missiles in a forcefield while Ultra Magnus yells at Whirl for possibly destroying half the ship.

            Whirl: Which half?

            *facepalm* I am actually gonna be happy when Cyclonus kills him. Red Alert join Ultra Magnus and company to find that the Sparkeater is gone, going for the Brightest Spark. The Sparkeater attacks Rung in his office only for Rung to be saved by the disobedient Skids. Skids and Rung do their best to outrun the Sparkeater, falling onto the elevator on the ship and telling Brainstorm to go to the engine room. The Sparkeater follows them … with Skids and Rung running off. The Sparkeater has Brainstorm cornered when he holds up his case, looking away. The Sparkeater does NOT attack him. Hmm … interesting. Rodimus stays in the Engine Room with Drift  as Skids and Rung run in. Rodimus immediately holds up Rung as the Sparkeater is coming. The Sparkeater jumps towards them but Rodimus pushes Rung out of the way and holds on to the Sparkeater. Rodimus quickly pushes him against the engine when he tells Preceptor to prepare for Quantum Jump. Rodimus pushes the Sparkeater into the engine to get it … and his forearms stuck into the engine like Ore did.

            Our book ends with Rodimus getting lectured by Ultra Magnus about using Rung only to have Rodimus tell him that on the ship, he’s the one in charge . .. oh, and Tailgate with Rachet saying that since he missed the war but choosing a side is important . .. he’s gonna be a Decepticon. Wait …WHAT?!

CLASH TACTICS

            Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye opens with a bang and the pace does let up. Both Nick Roche and Alex Milne have really come to make the Autobots have distinctive looks that give them a little more variety instead of some other artists always make them box and having smaller mass. Red Alert here looks more like a beefier Autobot and he should … he’s a fire inspector car. Rodmius is a bit thinner than Ultra Magnus and Trailbreaker, which makes sense. Rodmius’s alt mode is sleeker and thinner then their bulky alt modes.  Kudos to Roche and Milne for really fleshing out these Autobots to look more distinct.

            Josh Burcham does a great job with colors, helping pitting modes and distincting not only the Cybertronians, but also the settings and moods for the scene. For lighter scenes, he made sure the colors were a bit lighter. Compare to a lighter scene on Cybertron and a lighter scene on the Lost Light, Cybertron was dreary and that matched that area while the Lost Light is a bit more lively and colorful; giving a sense of hope.

            James Roberts writing is solid from the word go. Every Cybertron has a distinct voice and personality that you will either love or hate .. . and he will make sure it stays the way he wants it to be. From the somewhat childish yet noble antics of Rodimus, to Ultra Magnus’s super clean-cut, by the book style to Whirl’s mania, every character in the book is fleshed out, realized and make you notice them. Particularly, what he did with Prowl in the first issue and how Prowl’s presence is STILL being felt by the third issue. Cyclonus is an interesting yet fitting choice to have on the crew of The Lost Light cause he will bring a different perspective and that fact that there aren’t supposed to be two factions anymore. Everything that has happened in the book ends up working into some kind of sub plot, plot and/or character development … such as hints on Chromedome’s skills to how they deal with the Sparkeater. Everything weaves itself into a tapestry of action, comedy and sense of emotional reflection. The book is fun with that mix and we have Roberts to thank for writing it that way.

            Overall, Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Liars A to D Part I-III have proven to be a strong book. It has great sense of plot, easy to pick up and read, wonderful & consistent character, exquisite pacing and spectacular art that you will enjoy.  If you haven’t picked up a Transformers comic recently and you only had to pick up one … get this book. It’s smart, fun, easy yet complex read that you will enjoy after multiple readings.

            It is my pleasure and honor to give Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Liars A to D Parts 1-3, a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERSHIP (aka a 5 out of 5).  So go. Pick up now. It’s available on digital and print from IDW Publishing.

            Thanks again everyone.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: DARK MATTER #1

FIRST IMPRESSIONS # 1

DARK MATTER #1

Written by Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie

Art by Garry Brown

Dark Horse Comics

INTRODUCTIONS

            Hello Clashers. Once again, tis your EIC, Frankie Rodriguez here to provide you with more. More quality content for all our readers, new and old. I know some people are really enjoying our reviews and we here at Comic Book Clash enjoy writing them. If you notice though, the majority of our reviews are on whole storylines and arcs. Usually, they are almost never 1 issue. Well, this changes that. First Impression will be how we look at a series through an issue we pick up. It can be a first issue, a jump on point or just a book we decided to buy cause it looked cool. This will open some new doors. First Impressions will be different. We are reviewing an issue on its merits which is slightly different. While our overall reviews will be storylines, First Impressions will be about how an issue stands on its own. These will be smaller, for obvious reasons and will go through a 1-5 star rating. Don’t worry, we will be having reviews of both storylines and single issues, just in 2 different ways. Thank you again and keep clashing.

                                                                                    Comic Book Clash Editor-in-Chief

                                                                                                            J1 Studios

                                                                                                            Frankie Rodriguez

FLIPPING THROUGH

            Dark Matter #1 opens in space, inside a spaceship, with a man leaving what seems to be a statis pod. More awaken and they all have several things in common: 1 – they all do not remember who they are. 2 – They do remember skills that help set them apart. 3 – They are all suspects of crimes that including making sure everyone forgot who they were and how they ended up lost.

            When the ship has trouble, the six go to fix it but only find out that there is another passenger. And that’s just the beginning.

IMPRESSIONS

Art:

            I enjoyed the art. It was strong with a noir feel to all the space melodrama that seemed to be happening within the first issue. The noir feeling in the art by Garry Brown added to the mystery of the book and helped make the spaceship and the people on it feel more alien. Ryan Hill’s coloring only helped enhance the mysterious setting; giving an impression to the reader that we feel almost as lost as the crew of the ship. Very well done.

Writing:

            As far as writing goes, Dark Matter #1 felt like a tv pilot. A GOOD tv pilot. And I know why. Writers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie have written good sci-fi before … for Stargate series of shows. This only helps add cred to their work here.

The characters all had distinct personalities which really worked cause we did not really get to know their names (Cause they don’t remember them). And some of the people I don’t like already … but in a good way. Writers that make me get up in arms about a character that is not even real is a good writer in my book. The pacing for this was excellent. This was not a fast read or a slow read. It moved at just the right pace. And the cliffhanger ending made we want more.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

            Dark Matter #1 was entertaining, curious and well written. The gothic/sci-fi blend of art helped deepen its mystery and helped set the tone of the series. The characters were enjoyable. The pacing was excellent. I really could not see anything wrong.

That is why I give Dark Matter #1 from Dark Horse Comics a 5 . . .out of 5.  And now I want to read more.

That is all for now. Later.