Vault Comics 2017
Written by F.J. Desanto & Todd Farmer
Illustrated by Frederico Dallocchio
Lettered by Travis Lanham
When he executed the last nanotech-enhanced super soldier, John Ravane thought that was the end of the haywire Insurgence Program. Ten years later, in the wake of social unrest, it’s true legacy is revealed. As sleeper agents scattered throughout the country activate, Ravane must stand between a government he cannot trust and the soldiers he once hunted.
Okay first things first I love Frederico and what he can do on the page. I mean even before I started to read this story his artwork just hits you BAM! It’s a powerful opening scene and when we see John’s target in all his newfound glory well it really sets the stage for how this book is going to look moving forward. The use of human/cyborg elements and how the general public perceives them as well as these perceive themselves is the kind of the creativity and imagination that we want to see. His eye for storytelling utilising page layouts through angles, perspective and use of backgrounds is amazing and the flow he creates is beautifully done.
F.J. and Todd have come up with a very interesting story. It reminds me a bit of Terminator in a way that’s fused more with the present and what kind of technology we have as well as the current state of the U.S. Government. The way they’ve structured this story to give us that opening and then move us further down the timeline was well done. The smooth transition and showcasing how things have evolved and yet still remain volatile is really impressive.
Gotta love the moment when Eve is confronted with bank robbers and awakens to her true self. This is the inherent problem when having sleepers of any kind they can awaken and not know what the heck is going on and this leads to problems. Such as the current President of the United States is finding out first hand. I must say though that the solution his people come up with doesn’t surprise me and that’s a shame considering human history however it’s not far from reality.
So the man who creates the Program shuts it down and leaves the country. Unbeknown to him the Government starts it back up and thinks they perfect it. Well at least improve aspects of it until naturally it all comes crashing down around them. So they go to the man who initially created it who wants nothing to do with it. His new life, something that includes a parting moment from is old one, in jeopardy and his daughter about to find out the truth John doesn’t have a choice. Blackmail and scientific curiosity are not a good combination.
Can John return to his old life, pull the President’s bacon from the fire and put down are resurgence the likes of which the world has never seen, nor is prepared for? Who knows but we’re going to have fun finding out.
This is the kind of book and the kind of work that not only defines it’s creators but helps to put the company on the map for the kind quality we’re looking for.