Aspen Comics 2015
Written by Vince Hernandez
Penciled by Claudio Avella
Inked by Mark Roslan
Coloured by Erick Arciniega
After having read the FCBD edition I was looking forward to this debut. Boy Vince doesn’t disappoint either the way he manages to showcase each individual character being targeted by Maylander giving us some extremely nice characterization while setting the stage for how the book is going to be. I’m loving this idea, the execution, the characterization it’s all pretty darn flawless and seems to really fit into what Michael Turner’s vision of his universe was.
I have to say that each segment of this issue has been incredibly well crafted. These individuals that are gathered have been done so for a reason and as you see the lives each one lives it becomes more and more clear why they were chosen to be taken and used in such a manner over the myriad of others still loose in the world. The interior artwork isn’t exactly like we are used to from Aspen and it seems that individual style is emerging here creating a new fun world that screams comics and excitement. A little fine tuning here and there are needed sure but visually this is rendered wonderfully and gives each character that individualism that they need to stand out.
I hate men like Maylander I really do they have the feeling that they have the right to make decisions for what’s best on their own as if the rest of us don’t get to decide. They become judge, jury and prosecutor and believe they have this somehow divine right to be just what they are. Paranoia, fear and all that goes along with it showcase a more fragile dangerous mind than you can imagine. Should one point they are akin to any madman despot leader such as Hitler they become enraged but in truth they are just as he. Delusional people who think they can save their world from a threat only they see and understand.
How this will tie into what happened in Kiani’s latest mini-series however remains to be seen but I do hope that it will tie-in in a major way and in the not too distant future. It would be interesting to see how that does affect what goes on here and the group of unwitting agents he has gathered.
Now I have no real knowledge of his endgame but Maylander is more dangerous than anyone realized including those in the U.S. Government who know of his actions. He should be feared for what he does for it will bring an unwanted war to the shore of the United States in many different forms and could very well devastate the country should he lose in such a fashion as I can see happening. His target however that will turn his newfound group into traitors of their own kind seems to be one that isn’t a great threat just one to gauge their abilities and how they work as a team. Or perhaps instead of capturing and experimentation on her recruitment also but we’ll have to wait and see on that one. What I do know is that the underlying tones of this book are incredibly strong and extremely well done.
This is an exciting new chapter in the life of the Aspen universe and one that seems to usher in a new age of storytelling which hits the reader like a ton of bricks. Powerfully strong and intensely gripping this is a new dawn!