Aspen Comics 2015
Eternal Soulfire
Written by J.T. Krul
Pencils by Alex Konat
Inked by Mark Roslan & Gabe Carrasco
Coloured by Frederico Blee
Fathom Blue
Written by Vince Hernandez
Illustrated by Claudio Avella
Coloured by Erick Arcinega
I’m a huge fan of Aspen Comics, always have been and this makes me excited for two books that will coming to us. First up is Eternal Soulfire and if you haven’t been reading Soulfire you are missing out because this series has had it all, magic once prevalent in the world went away and then a young man ushered the age of magic back now it’s side by side with technology and the world at large is struggling to cope with the balance of science and magic.
Here we meet a young lady named Cassidy who has been secretive lately. We see her ask her father for a bedtime story about a Princess and a Dragon and it’s her favorite story and we soon see why. Meanwhile we see a warrior who was around when the magic left and has to survive all this time until it’s return.
Aside from the gorgeous interior artwork the story is really astounding. Alex and company really have this uncanny ability to keep this looking so much like Turner’s work and vision for his properties and the vibrancy of the colours and the faces that exude so much emotion not to mention the feelings of awe and wonder the interiors evoke really do set this apart from other books on the stands today.
To go along with that stunningly artwork the story is kind of universal. People struggling to survive with a new status quo learning to deal with strange new powers and body modifications showcase how adaptable we are as a species. I love the differences we get here already I mean Cassidy is so sweet and innocent and scared of what’s happening to her and then we’ve got our seasoned warrior going about her business taking out those who abuse their newfound power.
On the flipside we get to see the upcoming Fathom Blue. This feels like it’s going to spin out of Fathom: Kiani vol.4 as Admiral Maylander has himself been capturing those of the Blue and is using a group of them to do his bidding. that’s a covert war against their own kind. It’s a complex story of those who are prisoners threatened with death if they don’t co-operate with the Admiral. I’m looking forward to seeing this ragtag group of strangers become a team/family unit and if they can overcome their current predicament to rise above human captivity and make a real difference in the world.
Surprisingly this one has more of a traditional comic book feel to the interior artwork with glimpses of the Turner look. Also the fashion sense here is interesting and I can kinda like that they are misfits who don’t belong to the Blue anymore and are feared and used by the Humey’s. It does go along extremely well with the story we get here and the characterization that is started in showing us how they are adapting to the human way of life.
These are two titles that will redefine the Aspen universe and the franchises they come from it’s also very new reader friendly and these are books you need to have ordered for you!