Aftershock Comics 2016
Created & Written by Adam Glass
Illustrated by Patrick Olliffe
Coloured by Gabe Eltaeb
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
What a long, strange trip it's been for Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders as they close this chapter of their journey and save the world from a threat like it has never seen before. But there is a price to pay and people back home to hold responsible.
If you haven’t been reading this you’ve been missing out on something great. An alternate history with aspects of Steampunk, science fiction and a pending alien invasion it really doesn’t get much better than that. Well except for the fact that all the players in this little drama are all historical figures. Not only that there are actual historical events that play out here that serve as a backdrop for the real adventure and the way Adam has conceived and executed all this has been absolutely delightful.
Not only that but the characterisation here has been pretty darn fantastic as well. While we can only guess at what people were like from their writings or what was written about them while they weren’t in the spotlight what we get here seems like it would be about right. Mix that in with the larger than life happenings here and you’ve got that special kind of cocktail that you don’t come across everyday.
Patrick does a great job on the interiors here. There’s a great use of creativity and imagination in bringing the weird to life here. His use of page layouts with angles, perspective and even the backgrounds are extremely well done. The way he’s able to bring emotions from the characters expressions and body language is great to see. With Gabe colouring the work it stands out even more at moments and really heightens the experience.
I’ve enjoyed this first arc and was surprised at the turn of events but I shouldn’t have been what with their characterisation and the kind of folks these are. What I will say is that it ends on a note where after completing the mission at hand we learn not only the truth behind what was happening in Cuba but who’s to blame as well. This will not stand with certain people and we kind of see that here. Though with what happens to one member of the group it looks like their days may be numbered.
Numbered? Naw that is not going to happen after all they’ve gotten a taste of this life and there’s no turning back. Plus after the beat down and that last page well yeah this is far from over. Adam not only ties up this adventure nicely he leaves things open for further tales and some are from angles you may not expect. Plus we never did learn why Rasputin was in Cuba to begin with. So through all we learn, see and experience one thing is clear this is the first arc of something that could be a long healthy run.
Creative, inventive and original look at mixing fiction with history in ways that make you wish this was really how the world was!