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Souled #1

Reviewed by David O' Leary

SOULED #1
Cover Date: July 2011

Story by: Christopher Faulkner
Art by: Zach Bassett & James Whynot
Colours by: Kevin Zeigler
Letters by: Cosmic Times
Publisher: Cosmic Times
Cover Price: $3.50
Reviewed By: David O' Leary

Book Summery: South Florida based comic book publisher Cosmic Times brings Christopher Faulkner's unique science fiction vision to life in the five-issue full-color mini-series Souled. Set against the backdrop of intergalactic corporate manipulation, Souled follows the crew and passengers of the space-freighter Another Man's Trash as they uncover a mystery on the edge of the universe that transcends even the barriers of life and death. Souled will debut at MegaCon in Orlando Florida on March 25th and to celebrate Cosmic Times will be releasing a con-exclusive lithograph created by series artists Zach Bassett & James Whynot.

"What Lies At The Edge Of The Universe?"

This new book form Cosmic Times represents a couple of milestones from the fledgling South Florida company. Firstly, it is the first comic that the company has produced in full colour and secondly, it is the company's first series not written by founder Martin Pierro.

As the book is just released, it is only fair to give a spoiler warning as I will be discussing the books plot points. The story is set in a time in the future where corporate corruption is rife in an era where man has travelled beyond the reaches of his own little area of space. With commodities at a premium it is a time where everyone has to have a sense of self preservation just to get by. The story takes place on a freighter ship Another Man's Trash as we follow the passengers and crew on a journey to a planet. One of the passengers, Adona, becomes a little too curious for her own good and stumbles unto an intriguing mystery that promises to be one of the focal points for the reminder of the series. The character of Captain Travitt is a particular favorite early on for me. I like how he comes across as a guy who wishes his life was better and taking place somewhere else but when it comes to the crunch his survival instincts take over and you see the qualities of a true captain shine through.

The situation on the planets surface when the crew gets there was paced nicely I thought. It was important not to reveal too much too early and to finish the issue on a crash landing seemed like a perfect end to act one.

As a big sci-fi fan myself, I was worried that the book would read like an overtly cliched book that uses big words as if Spock was saying them but thankfully that wasn't the case here as Faulkner crafts a fluid read that if anything uses the set up in this issue to make what will come be exciting and highly anticipated.

Zach Bassett & James Whynot provide art duties here and are joined by Kevin Zeigler on colours in a first for the company. I love the rawness of the book. There is obvious talent on show and though these guys are new but have worked together in the past. Bassett and Whynot have inked a couple of issues of Kord & Harley through Arcana and Bassett is working on a creator owned project called From Blood. If you get to see cover pencils for that one, check them out, they are immense. As for this book though there are some cool images to look at. The two page spread on the final scene is so visceral to look at it almost jumps off the page. Also the final page itself is a wonderfully constructed abstract piece that would look awesome as a poster in its own right. The art team have a nice grasp on pacing and structure and it appears on first evidence that the production team have gelled nicely.

This book should stay on schedule as Bassett is finished pencils on issue two and I look forward to seeing more from this team. This issue made its public debut on March 25th at MegaCon and if there is one thing you can take for granted, it is that Cosmic Times will not lead you astray. From Decisions to Arthur, you can place this book beside them all and know that you are reading comics at their best from some of the freshest voices in comics today.

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Reviewer Bio

David has been with CR since June 2008 and started out as a reviewer and has expanded to do a couple of columns for the site also; starting with 28 Words Later with artist Declan Shalvey and later 5 Minutes With... where he talks with the industries best and brightest from Kubert to Moore.