Dark Horse Comics 2015
Created, Written & Illustrated by Scott Kolins
Lettered by Michael Heisler
A meteorite crash on the island home of Adam.3 shattered the night and woke Adam and his pregnant wife Skye. This resounding crash also shocked Adam’s estranged son Beo, who was poised to kill Adam while he slept. Beo fled, while Adam rushed to the crash site, where a forest fire had started. After evacuating the animals, Adam was attacked by an unearthly monster. Their fierce battle ended when Adam tore the monster apart, but he succumbed to exhaustion as the fire raged on. With a lick from his giant puppy Mojo, Adam later woke to Skye explaining that a mysterious rainstorm had doused the fire, and an empty meteorite “egg” had been discovered at the crash site. Back at the treehouse home, the analysis of the “egg” was cut short by Beo’s distant scream!
With each issue that comes out I become more and more impressed with Scott’s talent and skill. The first page with Adam riding the eagle is really gorgeous and keeps demonstrating the growth and maturity of his work artistically. I also find myself incredibly engaged by the language he’s made up so to speak that the characters use. Well it’s basically using different phrases in different ways to convey meaning but it’s cute and effective in demonstrating an otherworldly type culture.
I rather got a kick out of meeting Beo’s mother here. She’s definitely an interesting woman to put it mildly. Seeing her and Skye face off in a manner of speaking was something unexpected and the use of powers that we see emerging in the women are also nice. Just as a mother lioness is protective of her cub Riva goes off in a rage upon learning of the events that have befallen her son. Not a wise course of action to go off alone though anger and that protectiveness of a mother means she doesn’t dwell.
The darkness that has been unleashed is gaining in strength as we see it overtake denizens of the forest. Those animals traveling with Adam fear it as well. Animals will run from danger and can sense it much sooner than humans that’s been proven time and again and that even their love for Adam and his son isn’t enough to make them stay speaks volumes of the threat they face.
What we see when Adam encounters those infected by this vile darkness isn’t something he isn’t prepared for. For that matter neither are we and I have to give a huge shoutout to Scott for what he’s able to do visually with that. It’s creepy and menacing and does wonders in creating that science fiction element more fully into the story.
Mojo is tasked with protecting Skye at home but this darkness able to render technology useless and infect the animals of this world seems to be something even the mysterious creature can’t combat.
There’s so much tension rising from the pages of this issue. You have that desire to see what comes next to see who lives and if anyone dies. There’s that overwhelming sense of doom and gloom yet after having met these characters you’ve also got that spark of hope they’ll succeed.
There’s still so much left to learn and explore and yet we have to wait as the time is right for Scott to weave it into what’s happening now. This is exciting, fresh and different from the worlds it almost emulates, or takes part from, so that it really is a unique vision and voice that comes to life before us.