Another of
Aspen’s flagship titles returns this week with Soul Fire. The third
volume takes place after magic has returned and a new period of peace between
the Rahtumi and Sethoru has begun. One of the Sethoru isn’t happy with co-existence
and has stolen a book from the forbidden library in order to use a dark magic
that only the Sethoru can harness. Her name is Onyx and she has a lot of enemies
still in this new peace filled world.
Grace, one
of the Rahtumi discovers Onyx as she’s stealing the book of dark secrets and
confronts her, but Onyx escapes back into hiding. Our star of Soul
Fire is yet to be seen until Grace’s thoughts reach out to him. We find
Malikai wondering the frozen tundra in a self-imposed exile. He recounts his
last experience around people and how he could feel darkness creeping inside of
him and changing him. Not wanting to hurt the love of his life he left. Now he decides to visit the closest city to get something to
eat and finds a dive bar to do just that. The bartender is extremely friendly
to him and even offers to talk to her landlord for an extra room so he doesn’t
have to sleep out in the cold. Soon thought, Malikai will be thrust back into things as Onyx's plan unfolds.
This first
issue is pretty good. It familiarizes the reader with the world of Soul
Fire and gets them caught up on the events of the past. It also sets up
the catalyst for the plot of this story arc as Onyx wants to use a dark power
to restore her people to a position of power. Writer J.T. Krul (MindField)
does a good job of picking up the pieces of the previous storylines and reignites
this franchise for a new set of readers. It’s been awhile since Aspen’s focused
on their flagship titles, so it’s good to see a return to their roots while
they continue to develop new franchises for the future.
The art
lives up to Aspen’s high standards and artist Jason Fabok gives a solid
performance on the book. He doesn’t try to copy Michael Turner’s style, but
rather use it as an influence and give his own twist to the world. It’s a good
thing, because it saves him from the constant comparison. Complimenting Fabok’s
strong pencils is John Starr’s coloring and it goes without saying that it’s
great. Aspen doesn’t have a single colorist that isn’t amazing and Starr is no
exception.
Soul Fire was one of those books that never
really sucked me in. It always seemed interesting and the art was beautiful,
but I never got into the story. With this latest volume the series seems to
have matured to allow new readers to become interested in it, while still catering
enough to fans of the series. If you’ve been looking forward to the return of
this flagship book then you won’t be disappointed.
Overall Score 7.9/10
*Great for New Readers*