FATHOM #0 (Cover Date: May 2011)
Story by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Alex Konat
Colours by: Beth Sotelo
Letters by: Josh Reed
Cover by: Alex Konat
Publisher: Aspen Comics
Cover Price: $2.50
As preview books go I must commend the production on this one. Fathom is one of the late great Michael Turner’s legacies and its long overdue return to the shelves in this ongoing is very welcome. Aspen Comics, of course when they say ongoing, usually mean about 9-12 issues for a volume. The last issue being the tenth issue of volume three released about February 2010.
This is a 15 page primer to the first full size issue and is laid out like those 3 minute set up segments at the start of a TV show before the theme music starts. I mentioned earlier about the production values of the book. What I mean about that is this; the entire aim of a preview book like this is that it wants to entice readers who are either returning to the book for a new story or for new readers to jump on board. The layout of the pages was a big selling point as there were more than a few double page spreads that were so eye catching. Alex Konat has his own style but he pays a lot of respect to the book that Michael Turner started and retains the wonderment of the depths that Turner so endowed the book with.
Scott Lobdell is enjoying a renaissance of sorts at Aspen. After seemingly disappeared after being super-popular in the nineties, he re-emerged to critical acclaim at Aspen recently with his book The Scourge. Following on from The Scourge, he got handed the reigns of one of Aspen’s top properties in Fathom. So I am cautiously optimistic that he can carry forward the promising premise that he has presented here in the preview to the ongoing series. The continuing saga of Aspen Matthews will probably be under more scrutiny than before on this series as pace picks up on a Fathom movie reportedly starring Megan Fox.
This preview has met its intended aim of enticing readers as I will be picking this book up when it goes on sale next month. Aspen don’t tend to put out any tripe so you can probably take it for granted that even if you don’t know the property, you should have no hassle getting into it.
Story: Overall 8
Art: Overall 9
Check out the preview http://comicbuzz.com/fathom-vol-4-0-preview
