Straight Forward Reviews : Fracture vol 2 # 4

The cerebral series Fracture returns with more clones and different personalities fighting clashing in life or death battles.

Writer - Shawn Gabborin

Artist - Chad Cicconi

Publisher - Action Lab Entertainment

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

Jeff's clone Virtue has gone haywire and seeks to kill Jeff. On top of this a villain that controls crocodiles is terrorizing lower Triton city. Any more summarizing would be criminal as this story is pretty dense.

The writing in this issue really shines. This series is all about a man's mental state and relationships with other characters. Of course there's still super heroics and it still has plenty of action. But, it really is more about the dialog rather than the action. With that in mind the characters have to sound like they're real people and fortunately enough they do. Despite it being a comic book with superheroes they sound and feel real. When they're not fighting. During the action scenes the dialog reads a bit too much like a Saturday morning cartoon which is a bit jarring compared to the rest of the dialog.

Art

The art does it's job. Objectively speaking the characters look good and so do the environments. Some bits of action looks like it could flow better. Subjectively it's not really my cup of tea but it's nowhere near bad, I didn't feel like it was a chore to look at it or anything that dire. Which goes to prove that the art truly isn't bad, the style can be something you don't care for but if it's still getting your attention and doesn't seem to set off any "that's just bad" alarms then it has to still be pretty good.

Verdict

Fracture is a unique series that's really standing out right now. This issue has a lot done right and some awkward moments. Which are mainly from the action parts of the comic feeling too much like a Saturday morning cartoon. But there's much more hits than there are misses and it's so unique that it should get looked at on that alone. The dialog and developments on Jeff's psyche are very intriguing. With that said I give Fracture vol 2 # 4 an 8.5 out of 10.

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.

Straight Forward Reviews : Quantum and Woody # 8

Quantum and Woody are back with more wacky antics in issue 8!

Writer - James Asmus

Artist - Ming Doyle

Publisher - Valiant

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

The story has Quantum and Woody acting like real superheroes and selflessly try to save people even though they have such opposite views from them. Yes, you read that right even Woody was acting like a real hero. The jump from guys to having superpowers to guys who actually care about defending others feels believable too.

Also I have to mention that the writing is brilliant and funny overall. It won't just make you bust a gut but it also fairly looks at people's different ideologies and beliefs.

Art

Ming Doyle's art still has this nice retro look to it. Along with Jordie Bellaire's colors adding to that. The colors almost look like old prints except of course without seeing the obvious CMYK dots like old comics had. It's a nice change up from other art styles you see in comics nowadays.

Verdict

Even if the art isn't your cup of tea I still have to give my highest recommendation for this book. The writing is hilarious and on point and it's such a joy to read that I give Quantum and Woody # 8 a 10 out of 10.

Molly Danger should be in your digital library!

For immediate release

PC MAGAZINE TOUTS MOLLY DANGER DIGITAL

Counted amongst the top 10 digital comics you should read right now!

Pittsburgh, P.A., PC Magazine, the world’s largest tech publisher calls Molly Danger on the ten titles you should have on your smartphone and tablet.
The series, created by Inkpot award winning creator Jamal Igle stars world’s most powerful ten-year-old girl. A seemingly immortal, superstrong hero, Molly has protected the city of Coopersville for the last twenty years. Kept in constant isolation and watched closely by D.A.R.T. (The Danger Action Response Team), an organization created to assist in her heroic deeds and monitor her movements, Molly battles the Supermechs. Molly longs for a real life with a real family. Her life changes when D.A.R.T. recruits a new pilot, Austin Briggs. Briggs has his own motivations for joining the team; newly remarried, Austin is having trouble forming a relationship with his new stepson, Brian. Austin wants to use his connections to impress Brian, an avid Molly Danger fan. However, things change when Molly and Brian form a friendship of their own. She believes she’s an alien whose family died when their ship crash-landed on Earth and before the atmosphere could fully alter them. She also believes that she’s alone, the last of her kind. Everything she believes is wrong.

Published in print by Action Lab Entertainment, Molly Danger is available digitally through Comixology.com 

Straight Forward Reviews : Quantum and Woody # 6

The eponymous duo are back with more wacky adventures. Are these adventures worth looking at though?

Writer - James Asmus

Artist - Ming Doyle

Publisher - Valiant

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

The story picks up almost immediately after the previous issue and sees Quantum happy over what he feels will be the chance to be a real superhero. Woody doesn't seem to buy into what Quantum believes his employer said and wants to follow. There's also the clone's antics as she is left to do her own devices, well, the goat is with her.

This issue sees a lot of laying down essential pieces for the plot. I don't want to spoil the rest of the issue, so I won't. But while this issue still has great comedic moments it really focuses on the story and does it well. Quantum's backstory, the clone sister and the goat, and the plans that certain people are making for what seems to be the next big event are done with great pacing and well written dialog.

Art


It's hard to not repeat myself when talking about the art in this issue. Especially since my opinion hasn't changed since the last issue. The stylistic choice of a retro looking comic really makes sense, especially with the current story arc. Facial expressions are also drawn really well and the movement of the characters really looks well done, like they all have a weight and mass to them and not just sketches on paper.

Verdict

Like the previous issues of Quantum and Woody there's big laughs and a story that's definitely growing from previous issues. There's also a reference to Archer and Armstrong if you can find it, it's especially funny if you've been reading that series since at least issue 3.

With big laughs, an intriguing developing plot and an art style that matches perfectly I have to give it a 10 out of 10. 

Comic News: The Mighty Titan's 3d Kickstarter Fully Funded Within 36 hours With Franchesco Good Girl Variant Cover And Prints

Cancer fighting hero is back again with an amazing fan response.

The Mighty Titan’s 3d Kickstarter fully funded within 36 hours With Franchesco Good Girl Cover

Comicbook writer/artist Joe Martino is no stranger to Kickstarter. In August, 2012, his Mini-Series The Mighty Titan was funded through the popular crowd-funding site. This past May, Joe listed his second issue for the series on Kickstarter with an amazing response. Now, while funding his 3^rd issue, Within 36 hoursthe book was above the goal amount.

Issue 3 has an amazing cover by DC Comics artist Steve Lightle (Legion of Superheroes, X-Men) with a variant cover by Good Girl artist Franchesco!. Joe is offering some amazing stretch goals for participants of this third issue; including prints as well as funding the 4^th issue and giving it to everyone that pledges above the $20 level.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jgmcomics/the-mighty-titan-3

The Mighty Titan creator, Joe Martino’s (Arcana’s Shadowflame, Ripperman), explains that his newest creation, “Essentially takes my cancer (and other experiences) and wraps them in a superhero shell. This isn’t autobiographical (mostly because I don’t have superpowers). I have researched and talked to other cancer survivors to try and get the feeling of what other people have experienced with their cancer.”

Issues #1 and #2 were critically acclaimed by many online comic news sites.

“This first issue is pretty close to perfect.” — Jess Kirby, expertcomics.com

“…I expect that this series will only get better as time goes on.” — Ashley Olien,floridageekscene.com

“…a very unique super hero story, one that’s worth seeing for yourself.” — Matt Johnson,panelsandpixels.com 

Martino initially developed the idea for Titan in 2004 as he was fighting his first bout with kidney cancer. “It was a tough decision to take some of my personal experiences and put them to paper in order to entertain and possibly allow people a glimpse of what some of us go through while battling this potentially deadly disease,” Joe explains.

Needless to say, while the story certainly has serious aspects, Martino insists, “This is still a cool, fun superhero book full of vile villains, giant Mechas, and some really great mythological creatures.”

Joe recently joined forces with Dave Ryan (The War of the Independents) and is forming a newer, strongerRed Anvil Comics.

# # #

For more information contact Joe Martino:  press@redanvilcomics.com

MOLLY DANGER PARTY SOARS at JHU COMIC BOOKS!

MOLLY DANGER PARTY SOARS at JHU COMIC BOOKS!
Successful launch event raises funds for Hero Initiative.

New York, N.Y.-During a whirlwind New York Comic Con, the biggest and most popular comics and media convention on the east coast, Action Lab Entertainment held a fun filled night of celebration. On Saturday, October 12^th Action Lab Entertainment, the newest and most exciting  publisher to enter the comics arena, cemented their place with the successful launch of writer/cartoonist Jamal Igle’s graphic album series.
The event, Sponsored by Jerry’s Artarama, Strathmore paper and Artograph inc. was held at JHU Comic books, the legendary New York based comic book chain. Revelry could be heard from their midtown Manhattan location as Igle, a 24-year veteran of the comics industry held court with friends, fans and well-wishers.

Comics and media luminaries who attended included ‘Thief of Thieves’ artist Shawn Martinbrough, ‘G.I. Joe’ artist Will Rosado, fan favorite creators like Stuart Moore (Marvel’s Civil war novel adaptation), Fred Van Lente (Brain Boy from Dark horse Comics, Valliant’s Archer and Armstrong, playwright Crystal Skillman (Cut, Birthday and Nobody), Dan jolly (Bloodhound, The Terminator: Enemy of My enemy),  West Side Cultural Center Managing Director Nanci Callahan, journalists, podcasters and fans from as far away as Venezuela, France, and Japan.
Igle also played a six-minute sample of the upcoming Molly Danger “Audio companion”, (produced by the Audiocomics Company. The upcoming release, Adapted by legendary writer Elaine Lee (Starstruck) directed by William Dufris (the original voice of Bob the Builder) stars Dufris himself, Awarding winning voiceover actors Robin Miles (The Pirate’s Daughter), Lance Roger Axt (Starstruck) and newcomer Olivia DuFord as Molly Danger. Met by rousing and thunderous applause, it was a proper end to a fantastic evening.

Proceeds from the event were also donated to The Hero Initiative, The first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Action Lab donated a portion of the sales of copies of Molly Danger Book One; “To honor the creators of the past in a small way, and celebrate the future,” said Igle.

Molly Danger book One is available for sale Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble. Com and WalMart.com. The Molly Danger Audiobook is available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and Amazon MP3 UK

 starting on October 31^st, 2013.

For more information contact Jwhitley@Actionlabcomics.com

About Jamal Igle
The Creator, writer and illustrator behind Molly Danger

One of the most popular and prolific pencillers in the comic book industry, Jamal Igle is an award winning artist and writer. Best known for his run on Supergirl with writer Sterling Gates, Jamal has been a professional jack of all trades for nearly 24 years, drawing every title from Action Comics to Zatanna for DC Comics.

For more information ccontact Jamal at www.JamalIgle.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 over 25 years experience 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.

For more information on all of their titles, visit the Action Lab website http://www.actionlabcomics.com or http://www.actionlabcomics.com/action-lab-digitalf or information on the new Digital First offerings.

About Jerry’s Artarama

Jerry’s Artarama is a national retailer of art materials and supplies headquartered in Raleigh, NC with 15 physical locations throughout the U.S. and a popular online store. Jerry Goldstein opened the first Jerry’s Artarama in Long Island, NY in 1968 with the goal of offering quality discount-priced products to established artists. Jerry believed in treating customers like family, a tradition that still continues. Today, Jerry’s offers more than 70,000 top-quality art materials at direct savings-with as much as 75 percent off tradition retail on products from the industry’s top leading art manufacturers, as well as Jerry’s own exclusive product lines via the online store, art supply catalog and Jerry’s Artarama Superstores. In addition, Jerry’s Artarama serves as an artist resource by offering instructional workshops, new art supply demos and special art-related events, including the Art of the Carolinas Tradeshow, an annual event held in Raleigh.

For more information, visit http://www.jerrysartarama.com.

About AudiocomicsAudioComics, under the guidance of producers Lance Roger Axt, William Dufris, and Elaine Lee, provides superior audio entertainment with its professional full-cast audio theatre productions of both licensed properties and original works from the world of comic books, graphic novels, and related media, accessible in today’s market with today’s sound. Productions include Starstruck, the forthcoming Bad Planet, and the first part of Titanium Rain, for which AudioComics was nominated for two Audie Awards from the Audiobook Publishers Association.

For more information, visit http://audiocomicscompany.com/

Jamal Y. Igle

Creative Director/Owner

Jamal Igle and Company LLC.

"Fortune favors the bold"

BONUS Mixtape - The Power of...!

I told you I'd put up a bonus page. Now to focus on writing again... and then miss another week and then put two more pages... Just kidding.

Visit my deviantart for more stuff like artwork I actually put effort in and to learn more about the stuff I do. http://fighterxaos.deviantart.com

Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings release info

Supernatural Superhero-Team-for-Hire Takes On Its First Case  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Leaky faucet? Call a plumber. For real problems, call Troubleshooters, Incorporated, the world’s first supernatural superhero-team-for-hire. For the right price, Silver Oak (a wizard), Night Stalker (a werewolf), Yolanda (a sorceress), Shadowmist (a female ninja), and Lightshow (a hi-tech-armored roadie) are ready to take your case. And you can meet the team right now in their graphic novel debut, courtesy of independent publishing house StarWarp Concepts. TROUBLESHOOTERS, INCORPORATED: NIGHT STALKINGS (ISBN:978-0-9884429-2-4) is written by the husband-and-wife team of bestselling author Richard C. White (The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special; Star Trek S.C.E.: Echoes of Coventry) and Joni M. White, with pencil art by Reggie Golden and inks by Bill Lavin and Randy Zimmerman. The Troubleshooters’ first adventure involves protecting a millionaire from a trio of evil spirits—but as it turns out, the spirits are the least of the group’s problems when a full-fledged demon arrives to complicate matters. Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings—which also features cover art by indie creator Richard Dominguez (El Gato Negro), and pinups by Steve Lieber (Hawkeye), Jeff Parker (The Interman), and Gary Thomas Washington (Speed Racer)—is currently available for order from online and brick-and-mortar bookstores and comic shops. Its e-book edition is available through digital comic distributor DriveThru Comics, as well as from the StarWarp Concepts webstore. For more information on the company and its titles, please visit www.StarwarpConcepts.com. About the Graphic Novel: Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings Written by Richard C. White and Joni M. White Art by Reggie Golden, Bill Lavin, and Randy Zimmerman                        Published by StarWarp Concepts            96 pages, trade paperback (5.5” x 8.5”) U.S. $11.95 print • $4.99 digital ISBN: 978-0-9884429-2-4 (trade paperback) ISBN: 978-0-9884429-3-1 (digital) About the Creative Team: Richard C. White is the bestselling author of the novels Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil and Star Trek S.C.E.: Echoes of Coventry; the e-book fantasy series For a Few Gold Pieces More; and the digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special. His short fiction has appeared in the anthologies The Ultimate Hulk and Doctor Who: Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership. Joni M. White is a co-creator of Troubleshooters, Incorporated and an accomplished amateur author in her own right, but these days she spends most of her time as a computer scientist by day and a jewelry maker by night. Reggie Golden’s debut as a comic book penciler came with the publication of Troubleshooters, Incorporated #1 in 1995. Prior to that, his inking work appeared in Forbidden Fruit’s limited series Metallica (not to be confused with the heavy metal band). Randy Zimmerman is the editor and co-creator of Flint [Michigan] Comix & Entertainment, a free-to-readers comic newspaper. Before that he created the independent comic Tales From the Aniverse, and was a writer and artist for such titles as Arrow Comics’ The Dead and Caliber Comics’ The War of the Worlds. TROUBLESHOOTERS, INCORPORATED ™ and © Richard C. White. All rights reserved. #         #         #

Note for publication: Attached pictures are to be used free of restriction but only for the use of this press-release. For more information, please contact Steven A. Roman at starwarpco@aol.com

DaWaRou Posts: Tiger&Bunny

I really need to get on the ball with these posts. I started this on Sunday and it's taken me this long to get it done. Procrastination...you are a vile temptress indeed. But, that's the thing about mistakes, right? You make them so you can learn from them, so here's hoping I learn from this one. That's not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable and...slightly productive mistake but...let's just get started. I'm John Cortez and this is my fifteenth post for...The Broken Infinite.

So...in something of a call back to my thirteenth post on Demashita! PowerPuff Girls Z, let's talk about superheroes today. Superheroes date back to at least 1917, with Superman being one of the very first standing for truth, justice and the American way and all that other shit you know and love. They risk their lives to stop crime and punish those that, in reality, they've got no real business punishing in the first place but we'll let that slide for today. Now, while Superheroes are fairly popular in America, in Japan...not so much? I mean sure you've got Magical Girls and Super Sentai who are Superheroes in their own way but they don't really capture the ideal that we expect of them, at least I don't think so. And so, in 2011, Japan made, among other things, the wildly popular Superhero anime known as Tiger&Bunny!!!

Okay, since I'm having trouble describing the plot of the series, I'm gonna copy and paste from Wikipedia.

"The series takes place in "NC 1978" in a fictional, re-imagined version of New York City called Sternbild City, where 45 years before, superpowered individuals known as "NEXT" started appearing and some of them became superheroes. Each of the city's most famous superheroes work for a sponsor company and their uniforms also contain advertising for real-life companies. Their heroic activity is broadcast on the popular television show "Hero TV", where they accumulate points for each heroic feat accomplished (arresting criminals or saving civilians, for example) and the best ranked hero of the season is crowned "King of Heroes".

The story mainly focuses on veteran hero Kotetsu T. Kaburagi aka Wild Tiger who is assigned a new partner, a young man named Barnaby Brooks Jr. However, Barnaby and Kotetsu usually have trouble working together as they have conflicting opinions on how a superhero should act while at the same time trying to crack the mystery of the murder of Barnaby's parents. In addition, the appearance of a homicidal vigilante NEXT named "Lunatic" stirs up the public and makes them question the meaning of heroes."

There we go! Thanks Wikipeida! So...where do I start off? Probably the art and music. Right well, Tiger&Bunny is a very nice looking series...though it's use of CG turns me both on and off at the same time. To me, it seems kind of clumsy at the start but I suppose gets better as the series goes along. The music...not bad but to me kind of forgettable, with the exception of this one theme that reminds me of The Incredibles. The voice acting though, in both languages is great. The English isn't as good as the Japanese but it still sounds really good.

Now, personally when it comes to Superhero media...I'm not the best person to be giving opinions. I'm something of a selfish and cynical person and even though there are heroes that I love like Batman...I often find myself hating the morality of costumed crime fighters. It's all this self sacrifice with no reward besides...the pride of a job well done and the knowledge that you've won the day and protected the people who'll now come to rely on you for every little thing that goes wrong in their lives at best or at worst will ostracize and hate you for being different and I frankly don't like that. But despite all that, I still managed to find myself siding more with Kotetsu in the first 13 episodes than Barnaby. You know those characters like Seto Kaiba who are only interested in promoting themselves and serving their own ends? Well that's Barnaby for the first half of this series, and I LOATHED HIM! I found Barnaby to be one of the most hateful anime characters since...since...since SOSUKE FUCKING AIZEN! But, he did mange to eventually earn my respect. And while it does serve to make Barnaby a more interesting and fleshed out character once his past is gradually revealed, it might be a turn off for some people so I count it as a flaw. Another flaw, is the HORRIBLE way the other heroes are underutilized with Rock Bison being the most notable of useless characters in this series. Take him out of the series and I don't see it being any different at all. What's another flaw? Well as I said earlier, I find the blending of the CG to be...not quite good. I mean, obviously it's hard to perfectly blend CG into...whatever animation style this series uses but while it does get better, at the start of the series, it just POPS out at you. And finally I think the biggest thing about the series that'll bug people is the whole commercialized hero thing. Yesterday while on Twitter, one of my followers tweeted that everyone in the main cast is an asshole and I largely assume that this is because they care about their heroic ranking. It's very easy how one can come to this conclusion but it's a little short sighted and all together wrong. It's never outright stated that the heroes in Tiger&Bunny are self serving asshats and while Barnaby is the only one who's truly like that it fades by the second half of the sereis. The series never goes into detail on why any but Kotetsu and Barnaby decided to become heroes which does make the others look like sallow, underdeveloped money grubbers but when push comes to shove they truly care about doing the right thing and saving lives and fighting crime, not for the ranking but because it's the right thing to do. I'm sure getting paid for their services is part of their incentive to be heroes but I highly doubt that they decided to become heroes simply because the pay was good.

And now for the pros of this series! First of all, it's extremely rare to see an older protagonist in anime, at least it's rare for me. So often are the protagonists young children or young adults that it's actually pretty refreshing to see Kotetsu as our main character and not only is he in his mid 30's but he's also a father and unlike Goku who neglects his children for death and martial arts, Kotetsu does sincerely want to be there for his daughter Kaede. I also found his relationship with Barnaby to be very well done and well written throughout the entire series as they're perfect contrasts with each other. Another thing that I personally like about Kotetsu and Barnaby's powers is that they're not Flying Bricks and their powers are on a five minute timelimit. The other heroes that round out the cast, with the exception of Rock Bison, are also extremely engaging and likable on some level. I like how the heroes are paid for their services since it makes being a superhero more of a job than the subject of escapist fiction. I like the father/daughter relationship between Kotetsu and Kaede and I find to not only be well done but fairly realistic as well. The main antagonists were all amazing! The ones from the first 13 episodes, Jake and Kriem, I found to be enjoyable to watch and...is it just me or do they have kind of a Joker/Harley Quinn vibe going on? Finally the last arc of the series gives us a truly hateful villain and hey, every superhero series needs one. The visuals are pretty good, though my favorite thing to look at would be Fire Emblem's cape, I want that cape! Also, the series is way to good for it to have ended the way it did! It needs a second season!

So, all in all Tiger&Bunny is a really good anime series and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's got the time to watch it. It's probably the best superhero series ever to come out of Japan and I really wouldn't mind a second season of it. See you next week and sorry for getting this up so late! DaWaRou~!

Morphin Bracers Episode 26

The red and blue Bracers Seraph and xaos are joined by Darryl YTC Carter to discuss the latest news in toku. They also discuss whether it was right for Zordon to make Tommy the new leader of the Power Rangers when he became the White Ranger.

You want to be in the radio dramas we make for the show? We're looking mainly for female voices for specific roles. Details are here http://thebrokeninfinite.blogspot.com/2012/12/watch-this-video-or-read-on-myself-and.html

Darryl has his own comic book, The Magnificent Black Mage and you can read it for free here
http://magnificentblackmage.blogspot.com/

xaos has created an anime pin up calendar, if you want a print or a download that you can print go here for details http://thebrokeninfinite.blogspot.com/2012/12/2013-calendar-by-xaos.html

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Webcomic Review - Stealth

Well, readers of the Broken Infinite, I'm back again and this time I'm stepping away from mecha and countdowns to bring you a review. This week we're looking at volume 1 of the webcomic series Stealth by William Satterwhite.

Review by Jeremias de Leon


Story

Like any good superhero comic the first pages of the comic are all about setting up who the hero is. After a beat down of some street thugs the reader is shown glimpses of the hero  Allen White's high school life, how he got his powers and why he does what he does. His reasons for fighting crime are something I want to go into a little bit more right now. Allen's brother was a police officer who had no power and was dedicated to fighting crime that one day was murdered in the line of duty. Before this incident Allen already had his powers but did not use them to defend others. After realizing how dedicated his brother was to helping others and fighting crime even though he was a normal human Allen made a promise to his dead brother to use his power to do what his brother did.

This first volume of this webcomic is pretty much what I mentioned in the second sentence of the first paragraph. It shows Allen beating down evildoers, and goes into his personal life and relationships with other characters especially at his high school. During the volume though there's some story building with a record company executive named Mario Malone and his brother. By the end of the first volume you won't entirely know what's going on with the record company just that there's betrayals and a lot going on and none of it will be good for Allen.

Art


The first volume of Stealth seems to have been drawn traditionally, which isn't surprising, the website mentions that Stealth was actually started way back in 2001. It seemed like it when the art wasn't scanned in at too high of a resolution, which again, makes sense since it's being put on the web and not for print but perhaps the resolution was scaled a bit too far back for the first 3 issues of the first volume. The artwork seems a bit too blurry.

Other than that the style is actually great for this kind of story. It has a kind of noir feel to it and with the way the story was building up to be a crime drama with the record company executives and with the personal drama of Allen's school life.

Characters


The main character Allen White is a high school senior who seems to possess a genius level intellect. The comic states that he gets good grades, is in advanced classes and everyone seems to ask him for help on their schoolwork. He's also a very dedicated young man. He doesn't go through the motions when protecting people he honestly does want to make the city he lives in a better place. Also despite his teenage hormones affecting him and making him think about his high school crush he also seems to have his head on straight when it comes to crime fighting, he doesn't slack off and he never shows off. Something commendable for a comic hero at his age.

The girl that Allen likes Ashley Belle at first glance seems to just be a typical cheerleader but later on is quite more complicated than that and receives a lot of development.

Mario Malone the music executive and all the characters he's involved with are very interesting. I'd even say that you could take Stealth and his high school problems out and you'd be left with an interesting crime drama. Not that Allen himself isn't interesting.

Verdict

Whether it really is "the world's greatest superhero comic" I will leave to you. But it certainly is a good one. Some plot elements and dialog are a bit commonplace but overall it's still enjoyable.

I give Stealth an 8 out of 10

You can read Stealth here http://stealthcomic.com/