
Lion Forge Comics 2017
Written by Joe Casey
Illustrated by Jefte Palo
Coloured by Chris Sotomayor
Lettered by Todd Klein
Major Alistair Meath of Britain's Royal Air Force sacrificed his life to save Earth from an approaching asteroid on the night of "The Event." Seven months later, Meath has resurfaced as the colorful, kinetic energy-powered superhero KINO, but something is very wrong with the world. Britain's MI6 is on the hunt for Meath, and the terrible secret behind his return is revealed in this mind-bending thriller within the Catalyst Prime Universe.
So with each new book that comes out in the Catalyst Prime Universe we start to see more and more crossover as the world expands. Okay we’ve seen Lorena, Payan before and we know she’s a hardass and not one to be trifled with but here in this light it’s even more apparent that she’s a woman with secrets, ambition and a ruthless streak that makes her both unparalleled in her field and something akin to a super-villain. That we can’t really tell the difference between what she wants and what she’s willing to do to get it and what she’ll do with it when she has it well it is the kind of characterisation that makes for some interesting reading.
Then there’s Agent Gilmore and his introduction. I liked this and thought he was more of a pushover then he appeared. While I thought this was more of a feel you out kind of thing I gotta hand it to Joe for making it that and so much more. With each new book of his that I read I’m becoming more and more impressed with his ability to tell a story. How he’s able to structure a book and create that ebb & flow that not only takes you on a journey but creates it as well so it’s a more complete than you realise.
There’s also a moment when a different kind of super-villain origin story emerges and it’s done in the most peculiar of ways. I have to say that this while at first was something I didn’t understand they why of it became apparent quickly enough. It really is a most interesting way to go about that too and I love the unabashed way it feels.
Jefte has an interesting style of work here. I feel like I’ve seen if before in some indie publisher stuff of 80’s but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s just a familiarity or something my mind has made I don’t know but regardless I feel it and that might have a bit of warmth towards it. Or it’s because he was also prolific at Marvel but then I don’t read that much Marvel so. Any way you slice it he’s got a good eye for storytelling as he constructs the page layouts using angles and perspective are nice to see. Backgrounds are tricky and while we see them used well we don’t really see them used enough.
There are a number of angles at play here story wise and I look forward to seeing how Joe is going to keep this going separately while also merging their parts to make a larger picture. If anyone can do that successfully it’s got to be Joe so far he’s proven through a myriad of books that he’s more than able. it’s very ambitious to build a new superhero universe from the ground up and I’m very much impressed with what is being presented. Yes not each title will be for everyone but the sheer diversity of what is going on here means you’re bound to find something to like, love and want to see more of.