Aftershock Comics: Cold War, Relay, HID, Walk Thru Hell, Brothers Dracul, Betrothed
Reviews on the following Aftershock comics:
Cold War (1-4)
Relay (0)
Her Infernal Descent (1)
A Walk Through Hell (1)
Brothers Dracul (1-3)
Betrothed (1-4)
Individual series information can be found here
Series: Cold War
Issues: 1-4
Rating: 0.5/5 stars
This series has a lot of story to it, so there is great potential to be swept away.
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect on me.
Each issue focuses on a different point of view (or multiple ones): 1=Tom, 2=Vinh, 3=John & LQ, 4=Sath & Tikk. Unfortunately, after the first issue, the flashbacks increase, to where issues 3 and 4 have almost nothing to do with the current story and everything about the past. These two issues throw off the continuity and make it very confusing to me.
The art itself was a bit disappointing, considering the quality Aftershock has been putting out thus far. The overlapping text and different colours to show different characters’ inner dialogues were great, but other than that, I felt that the hues had a “grainy” feel and were quite unrealistic. I couldn’t tell if a character was black or in shadow; Asian or in shadow; white or yellow; in shadow or red. The blood looked like it was painted on faces by a brush, without much thought put into it (I only assume it’s blood based on the situation and the red). The harsh tones work for the situation, but the chiseled looks of everyone throws me off.
Tom Rook, Vinsh, John, Meredith Hague, and many many others were cryogenically frozen for about 582 years and have been awakened to fight for the United States. They find that while many things have changed, war stays the same.
Characters die (but seem to come back to life? Or maybe they don’t die? Or maybe they’re different and I just can’t make out who is who, other than Vinh). Some, like Tom, scare me for their utter lack of empathy. Others start crying about being in war and need a safe space, despite having been soldiers in the past. I get it; it’s a new world. On the other hand, they’re soldiers.
I do like the helmets and technology that allows people to relive and obtain past memories, things they may have forgotten. And I liked that issue 4 seemed to pick up a bit but then added in a third point-of-view. In truth, I stopped reading the issue halfway through.
So, I’m done with this series.
Series: Relay
Issue: 0
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Gah, it’s so pretty! And it is a hefty Free Comic Book Day read! It’s a full comic!
The first page has a wonderful beginning, with an understanding that truth can become distorted over time.
As such, sometimes faith is strived for more. This is true among a race in the Relay system.
The Relay system is created by a farmer who “crash” lands on different planets. The farmer is from Earth; the monolith he brings is something else. While he provides sustainable agriculture/an ecosystem and infrastructure to the worlds he visits, his work also breaks down faith.
The results are devastating, especially to me. The monolith leaves destruction in its midst, allowing the farmer to feel his work is complete and it’s time for him to move on.
I fear for the Relay system, ruled by this monolith, ruled by this two-faced farmer. I hope for faith and goodness to prevail in the end.
Series: Her Infernal Descent
Issue: 1
Rating: 4.75/5 stars
Gah, it’s so pretty! And it is a hefty Free Comic Book Day read! It’s a full comic!
The first page has a wonderful beginning, with an understanding that truth can become distorted over time.
As such, sometimes faith is strived for more. This is true among a race in the Relay system.
The Relay system is created by a farmer who “crash” lands on different planets. The farmer is from Earth; the monolith he brings is something else. While he provides sustainable agriculture/an ecosystem and infrastructure to the worlds he visits, his work also breaks down faith.
The results are devastating, especially to me. The monolith leaves destruction in its midst, allowing the farmer to feel his work is complete and it’s time for him to move on.
I fear for the Relay system, ruled by this monolith, ruled by this two-faced farmer. I hope for faith and goodness to prevail in the end.
I was very drawn into the comic and can’t wait to read more.
Series: A Walk Through Hell
Issue: 1
Rating: 2.75/5 stars
There is some great potential here, and I’m giving it closer to 3 stars instead of 2 for the following reasons:
A. The art is very good, including the coloring
B. I was freaked out enough in the end, more so than with B.E.K., and the intrigue is high.
There is a lot of story here, but it honestly feels like fluff. It’s not that nothing is said; it’s that there is almost no context. I was able to glean more from the pictures than the dialogue, which is quite rare for me.
It is December 2018 and there is another shooting at a mall. Six people, including (or as well as?) an Asian woman and her baby, are killed. The killer then turned the gun on himself. So of course, people take to twitter and run their mouths on the topic.
I like the tweet storm amid the story progression in the panels. It made the situation more real, more like it was “live.”
There are some other weird things going on, and the FBI has its hands in it. All the members of a SWAT team do a mass homicide on each other in order to forget something they’ve seen in a warehouse…but not before agents McGregor and Shaw make their way in there.
So, there is some good potential, but I felt there was a lot lacking.
Series: Brothers Dracul
Issues: 1-3
Rating: 4.6/5 stars
Oh-ho. The art is very good and I LOVE the plot! This goes beyond a typical vampire story, though a lot of the issues (blood drinking, flesh eating monsters) are the same.
We begin in Targoviste, the home of a young man named Radu. His brother Vlad seems to have gone mad, and the reader immediately knows that this is going to be a fairly gory comic (hence the slightly less than 4.75 rating).
We are quickly thrown into the brothers’ past, from twenty years prior, when they are held as noble (because of their lineage) hostages. That is, they become bodyguards to Mehmed, the heir apparent of the sultan. The three boys are thrust into a situation where they learn of the vampire, the forsaken…and Mehmed turns out to be a coward. This is bad because the upcoming battles are his challenge, his proof he will be as good a leader as his father.
Vlad is awesome at first, giving credit to Mehmed, but when Radu’s life is in danger, Vlad understandably becomes upset and starts to be sour towards Mehmed.
There is a love story in the background, which I know can only lead to disaster.
None of the boys are bitten…but someone surely has been.
I’m quite intrigued to see where this takes us!
Series: Betrothed
Issues: 1-4
Rating: 4.8/5 stars
Not quite 5 stars because it grates on me that people who “don’t have sex” are coerced and/or asked to break their morals/values for whatever reason. So expect a lower rating when that happens. Because Tamara’s: “But I’m not sleeping with you because someone I never met decided I have to” is perfect but I know it’ll be ruin. And that makes me sad and angry.
Page 1 of issue 1 cracked me up-this is no “Romeo and Juliet” for sure!
Kieron is new to school and touches the arm of Tamara to ask her a question. Tamara-voted to be the next Mother Teresa-goes ballistic on him and punches him out. Yet they are each immediately drawn to each other.
It’s almost physically electric.
Turns out they’re “The Betrothed,” created and hidden heirs to two warring people (Priams and Nuams). It’s a way for the tribes to have a truce, to end the fight between science & guns, and swords & magic.
Unfortunately quite a few from each tribe never wanted such an agreement. So, before they turn 18 and such betrothal can be consummated, will they fight and kill each other? Or will they fall in love?
Their Earth guardians were introduced in a hilarious way. They’re also awesome (though there is some iffy behavior going on). It’s great to see how Keiron’s “aunt” and Tamara’s “uncle” each taught the teens in roundabout ways to control and use their magics.
Their friends are awesome, wonderful, and true. Well, for Keiron, it’s a new friend, but he is still great. They’re funny and real too. I definitely feel like I’m reading teenagers.
The end of Issue 4 is INTENSE.
Cold War (1-4)
Relay (0)
Her Infernal Descent (1)
A Walk Through Hell (1)
Brothers Dracul (1-3)
Betrothed (1-4)
Individual series information can be found here
Series: Cold War
Issues: 1-4
Rating: 0.5/5 stars
This series has a lot of story to it, so there is great potential to be swept away.
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect on me.
Each issue focuses on a different point of view (or multiple ones): 1=Tom, 2=Vinh, 3=John & LQ, 4=Sath & Tikk. Unfortunately, after the first issue, the flashbacks increase, to where issues 3 and 4 have almost nothing to do with the current story and everything about the past. These two issues throw off the continuity and make it very confusing to me.
The art itself was a bit disappointing, considering the quality Aftershock has been putting out thus far. The overlapping text and different colours to show different characters’ inner dialogues were great, but other than that, I felt that the hues had a “grainy” feel and were quite unrealistic. I couldn’t tell if a character was black or in shadow; Asian or in shadow; white or yellow; in shadow or red. The blood looked like it was painted on faces by a brush, without much thought put into it (I only assume it’s blood based on the situation and the red). The harsh tones work for the situation, but the chiseled looks of everyone throws me off.
Tom Rook, Vinsh, John, Meredith Hague, and many many others were cryogenically frozen for about 582 years and have been awakened to fight for the United States. They find that while many things have changed, war stays the same.
Characters die (but seem to come back to life? Or maybe they don’t die? Or maybe they’re different and I just can’t make out who is who, other than Vinh). Some, like Tom, scare me for their utter lack of empathy. Others start crying about being in war and need a safe space, despite having been soldiers in the past. I get it; it’s a new world. On the other hand, they’re soldiers.
I do like the helmets and technology that allows people to relive and obtain past memories, things they may have forgotten. And I liked that issue 4 seemed to pick up a bit but then added in a third point-of-view. In truth, I stopped reading the issue halfway through.
So, I’m done with this series.
Series: Relay
Issue: 0
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Gah, it’s so pretty! And it is a hefty Free Comic Book Day read! It’s a full comic!
The first page has a wonderful beginning, with an understanding that truth can become distorted over time.
As such, sometimes faith is strived for more. This is true among a race in the Relay system.
The Relay system is created by a farmer who “crash” lands on different planets. The farmer is from Earth; the monolith he brings is something else. While he provides sustainable agriculture/an ecosystem and infrastructure to the worlds he visits, his work also breaks down faith.
The results are devastating, especially to me. The monolith leaves destruction in its midst, allowing the farmer to feel his work is complete and it’s time for him to move on.
I fear for the Relay system, ruled by this monolith, ruled by this two-faced farmer. I hope for faith and goodness to prevail in the end.
Series: Her Infernal Descent
Issue: 1
Rating: 4.75/5 stars
Gah, it’s so pretty! And it is a hefty Free Comic Book Day read! It’s a full comic!
The first page has a wonderful beginning, with an understanding that truth can become distorted over time.
As such, sometimes faith is strived for more. This is true among a race in the Relay system.
The Relay system is created by a farmer who “crash” lands on different planets. The farmer is from Earth; the monolith he brings is something else. While he provides sustainable agriculture/an ecosystem and infrastructure to the worlds he visits, his work also breaks down faith.
The results are devastating, especially to me. The monolith leaves destruction in its midst, allowing the farmer to feel his work is complete and it’s time for him to move on.
I fear for the Relay system, ruled by this monolith, ruled by this two-faced farmer. I hope for faith and goodness to prevail in the end.
I was very drawn into the comic and can’t wait to read more.
Series: A Walk Through Hell
Issue: 1
Rating: 2.75/5 stars
There is some great potential here, and I’m giving it closer to 3 stars instead of 2 for the following reasons:
A. The art is very good, including the coloring
B. I was freaked out enough in the end, more so than with B.E.K., and the intrigue is high.
There is a lot of story here, but it honestly feels like fluff. It’s not that nothing is said; it’s that there is almost no context. I was able to glean more from the pictures than the dialogue, which is quite rare for me.
It is December 2018 and there is another shooting at a mall. Six people, including (or as well as?) an Asian woman and her baby, are killed. The killer then turned the gun on himself. So of course, people take to twitter and run their mouths on the topic.
I like the tweet storm amid the story progression in the panels. It made the situation more real, more like it was “live.”
There are some other weird things going on, and the FBI has its hands in it. All the members of a SWAT team do a mass homicide on each other in order to forget something they’ve seen in a warehouse…but not before agents McGregor and Shaw make their way in there.
So, there is some good potential, but I felt there was a lot lacking.
Series: Brothers Dracul
Issues: 1-3
Rating: 4.6/5 stars
Oh-ho. The art is very good and I LOVE the plot! This goes beyond a typical vampire story, though a lot of the issues (blood drinking, flesh eating monsters) are the same.
We begin in Targoviste, the home of a young man named Radu. His brother Vlad seems to have gone mad, and the reader immediately knows that this is going to be a fairly gory comic (hence the slightly less than 4.75 rating).
We are quickly thrown into the brothers’ past, from twenty years prior, when they are held as noble (because of their lineage) hostages. That is, they become bodyguards to Mehmed, the heir apparent of the sultan. The three boys are thrust into a situation where they learn of the vampire, the forsaken…and Mehmed turns out to be a coward. This is bad because the upcoming battles are his challenge, his proof he will be as good a leader as his father.
Vlad is awesome at first, giving credit to Mehmed, but when Radu’s life is in danger, Vlad understandably becomes upset and starts to be sour towards Mehmed.
There is a love story in the background, which I know can only lead to disaster.
None of the boys are bitten…but someone surely has been.
I’m quite intrigued to see where this takes us!
Series: Betrothed
Issues: 1-4
Rating: 4.8/5 stars
Not quite 5 stars because it grates on me that people who “don’t have sex” are coerced and/or asked to break their morals/values for whatever reason. So expect a lower rating when that happens. Because Tamara’s: “But I’m not sleeping with you because someone I never met decided I have to” is perfect but I know it’ll be ruin. And that makes me sad and angry.
Page 1 of issue 1 cracked me up-this is no “Romeo and Juliet” for sure!
Kieron is new to school and touches the arm of Tamara to ask her a question. Tamara-voted to be the next Mother Teresa-goes ballistic on him and punches him out. Yet they are each immediately drawn to each other.
It’s almost physically electric.
Turns out they’re “The Betrothed,” created and hidden heirs to two warring people (Priams and Nuams). It’s a way for the tribes to have a truce, to end the fight between science & guns, and swords & magic.
Unfortunately quite a few from each tribe never wanted such an agreement. So, before they turn 18 and such betrothal can be consummated, will they fight and kill each other? Or will they fall in love?
Their Earth guardians were introduced in a hilarious way. They’re also awesome (though there is some iffy behavior going on). It’s great to see how Keiron’s “aunt” and Tamara’s “uncle” each taught the teens in roundabout ways to control and use their magics.
Their friends are awesome, wonderful, and true. Well, for Keiron, it’s a new friend, but he is still great. They’re funny and real too. I definitely feel like I’m reading teenagers.
The end of Issue 4 is INTENSE.