Overground Comics 2015
Written & Coloured by Jon Hughes
Penciled by Joshua Flower
Inked by Mostafa Moussa
The team has finally begun to compose themselves after the death of their leader, Captain Zero. A talk between Insight and a top level Zero Technologies executive prompts her to reveal her identity to Pulser. Just when they think that they’ll be able to pull themselves together and move forward, the new CEO of Zero Technologies is about to turn their world upside down…
I really am greatly impressed with what Jon is doing with this series. His story is very solid and his characterization is ever evolving and growing making these characters as real as possible. Plus he keeps putting these characters through their paces in a seemingly never ending barrage be it in their personal lives or out in action.
There’s something to be said for shocking the reader with unexpected turn of events but when those same actions shock the very team we’re reading about well you know something big is going down. This press conference that Angelica Argos the new CEO of Zero Technologies, who has something of a past of her own, with Captain Zero is chock full of delightful surprises for everyone! By opening things up to the selected members of the press we get a great opportunity to not only see her in action but the responses of the team, the public, okay media, and the police. This is a very well crafted segment.
While this takes up most of the issue fear not because the amount of characterization and what we see, namely to Rhapsody, keeps things set up nicely for what’s coming next. The little reveals, the betrayals and even this mission they have to leave the press conference for all smack of something else and it’s the intrigue behind that which has my attention. Well okay that and the new characters both good and bad, well I wonder if any are good, raise more questions that you realize. So whatever is going on with Insight well that’s going to be something I can’t wait to discover.
The interiors here are extremely good too. I love seeing Rhapsody because she’s so different and that we get to see her tattoo’s clearly, cross on the right shoulder for instance, and such detail is the kind of attention that makes this stand out. Though consistency would be nice guys so watch out for forgetting where they are supposed to go. When she’s threatening Angelica she doesn’t have any is the example. There’s definitely a unique style at play but it’s good and makes the characters interesting and the pages and panels flow nicely.
Overground has me as firm fan. The writing is spectacular and coupled with strong interiors this makes me happy. It also shows you can have darker issues in a series without having to fall into some cliche traps.