Aspen Comics 2015
Written by Vince Hernandez
Penciled by Claudio Avella
Inked by Mark Roslan
Coloured by Erick Arciniega
Admiral Maylander used his military might and near limitless resources to assemble a collective of Blue exiles covertly living above the surface, by threatening to exterminate any whom rejected his offer. However, this group found their greatest danger is not at the hands of their new boss, Maylander, but their first target--the Elite Blue known as Elia Fawn…
What an opening we get here. The first three pages showcase what i’m guessing is a rogue Blue attending a minor league baseball game in San Jose, California when a man tests his patience and pushes his limits so that what happens well it’s quite literally a massacre and one that needs to be seen. It’s pretty neat to think he’s got the power to do what he just did and well if this is the kind of threat that Maylander has “assembled” his team to go up against well then perhaps there’s hope for him yet. Though let’s face it he’s misogynistic pig of a man who has a superiorly inflated ego and sense of self worth for what he truly is.
Last issue ended when we saw Elia going into the ocean after freeing the dolphins kind of like the eco-friendly crusader. So Maylander sends his ragtag group off to well I won’t say capture her because well there’s no way that is capable of happening but to bring her back with them, unspokenly by any means necessary. I like the kid he may not be officially in charge of the team but he’s got smarts and moxie and I like that about him, he’s reasonable enough to be the one they should listen to despite his apparent age.
Back on the rig the conversation between Maylander and Fisher well that just demonstrates that Maylander isn’t a man to trust at all. He’s too full of himself, too convinced of his cause and will do whatever HE deems necessary to get what he wants done. Sounds an awful like the depots and Hitler’s of the world to me. Vince has the ability to make him really much scary than he is here and that’s saying something because he’s already a man to be feared.
Now the chat Elia has with the group is enough to get her to the rig and meet with Maylander. While the others are separated from their conversation we see that Maylander really believes he’s trying to create a better world and his slick spiel to her only goes to reaffirm everything she has ever heard about him. His mistake in showing her too much too soon and relying upon the group assembled well that could eventually be his downfall but for now it seems he has luck on his side. For before anything else can happen they receive the news report about the attack at the Baseball field.
Vince is writing one heck of a story here, his characterization is strong and each person manages to get a little bit of attention thrown their way. The story has a bigger picture which even if you hate the methods you can appreciate the madness behind how it’s unfolding. This is an interesting look at the Blue and the potential they have to both help and harm humanity.
With the exception of Elia standing there on page seventeen the interior artwork here is very solid and the anatomy we see is well done. The emotions we get from the pages is palpable and there are times, such as on page nineteen where we see the use of Elia’s power as beautiful and graceful while still potentially deadly. I can see how this is going to improve over time as well and really become some standout work from this team.
This isn’t like the world of Fathom you’ve seen before and that’s what makes it fascinating and dynamic.