The world of Fathom
is far more complex than simply referring to it as Aquaman as a woman, which is what a lot of people think when they see
the late Michael Turner’s creation. It’s a shame then that they are missing out
on a very different underwater world filled with technology and
superpowers. Aspen Matthews (the name-shake for the company) used to be just another surfer girl until learning that
she was actually tied to the water she loved so much, in a completely different
way. She is the combination of two underwater civilizations that don’t get
along. Think of the Skrulls and Kree if you need a point of reference.
In the fourth volume of Fathom, Aspen wakes up as she’s
being felt up by a guard in an unknown location. She breaks free from the inhibitor collar they have
her in and begins summoning her water powers to beat all types of ass. Her
captors seem very familiar with her race, but not with her. That’s an advantage
for them since Aspen has no idea who they are or how she got to where she is.
She breaks free and finds that she’s still in the ocean, but very far from
home… at least she thinks she is.
Fathom has always been hard for me to follow because the
story always moved slowly due to the pages being filled with Michael Turner’s
incredible art. The first series remains some of his best work and was very
enjoyable as it basically copied the formula of Witchblade, but better.
In this new volume, comic veteran Scott Lobdell does what any zero issues should
do and familiarizes readers with the world of the comic. And he does a really
good job it; as he introduces Aspen and her history and then catches you up on
events that led up until this point in the characters life.
The art is good and it’s silly to even compare it to Michael
Turner’s since he was a one of a kind artist. That being said the art is still
just good. Several times Aspen looks like the character everyone is familiar
with, but the rest of the times she kind of looks like Summer Glau from Firefly.
It’s not bad, just off putting at times. Otherwise artist Alex Konat does a
good job of keeping the amount of details associated with Fathom and the
underwater world in general.
For a zero issue this book is pretty good. It does what all
zero issues should do and bring interest to the series and introduce the book
to new readers with low risk. I can’t say it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever
read, but if you’ve always been interested in Fathom here’s your chance to jump
on the book. If you walked away long ago you should stop by and check it out
again, you may just like what you see.
Overall Score –
7.0/10