
Hero Tomorrow Comics 2018
Story by Milo Miller & Ted Sikora
Illustrated by Benito Gallego
Coloured & Lettered by Ted Sikora
When big oil starts spewing in the Gulf of Mexico, Ilyia decides to work off some frustration by having Apama pay a visit to those responsible. Meanwhile across town, a scientist conducting experiments with a captured swarm of unidentified tiny life-forms is about to have an accident with a drunken landscaper that will give birth to the most dangerous doofus in all of comic-dom! The Rogues Gallery starts here! Big oil held accountable, science goes awry, and Apama throws down with a villain unlike any other in his inaugural donnybrook.
I couldn’t be more thrilled to have found Hero Tomorrow Comics. I love that the characters have this originality and uniqueness to them and that right now they’ve only got two titles out, and a feature film which I am waiting for someone to send me, and it isn’t about quantity it’s about quality. This is a great example of creating something and giving it your all and making it the best it could possibly be and entertain everyone, not mass production to stretch talent thin. Yes I know this was originally done in 2014 but it’s being re-released now and for me this is what I keep talking about, when you want good solid superhero storytelling that is bright and full of hope you need to look at these smaller companies.
I like the way this book is structured it almost feels like there are multiple openings which is fine by me because it gives us a chance to see what is going on in the area. Plus the first thing we really see is his origin and a recap of what has gone on before. I miss those first page recaps or something that would be that opening splash page in team books that told who was being featured that issue. So this is well conceived and executed flashback technique and I wholeheartedly support it. Not to mention it’s pretty much the only place we see what the Apama looks like.
While we’ve seen those who can shape-shift into animal forms and we’ve seen those who can call upon animals to aid them we have even seen talismans used to give the wearer animal traits be we’ve never seen someone who talks to the animal kingdom and wears a costume of this unknown animal and does a ritual to gain it’s strength, speed and ferocious spirit. Even better is that Ilyia is a slacker, he shows no ambition and a white boy with dreads like that and has no game well the characterisation here is incredible. I like how we see the people portrayed here and how everyday schlubs are portrayed as they attain powers that they have no clue how to properly use.
The interiors here are very well done. Benito has an understanding of the human body, how it moves and what it should look like. Not only that but animals as well as his critters are rendered awfully well. I like the linework and how it is used to show off not just the attention to detail but show us movement and emotions. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a good strong eye for storytelling. When backgrounds are utilised to expand the story and show the size and scope of the city or enhance the moment it really shows off some nice talent and skill.
With a great leading character, superb characterisation and story/plot development with absolutely wonderful modern “old school” interiors Apama shouldn’t remain undiscovered much longer!