Indy-Pendant is the first column ever written by Brant W. Fowler running from May 2005 to January 2007. It's a focus on independent comics creators, publishers and titles. These are the reprinted archives, which were originally published on www.comicavalanche.com.
Week 21 - Originally published on November 1, 2005
What up my peeps? Okay, so I'm a little late with the column this week, but I hope you enjoy what I did get done, which was the new site design. But onto why you read this every week...
Written by J.T. Krul
Pencilled by Marcus To
Inked by Don Ho
Colored by Rob Ro
Lettered by Dreamer Design
I got onto the original Fathom series towards its end and haven't had a chance to really catch up, so my knowledge of the Fathom world is not as extensive as I would like. However, that doesn't detract from this particular title. A knowledge of the Fathom world would be helpful, but it's not necessary to enjoy this tale.
Cannon Hawke's first appearance was in Fathom volume 1, issue 1. He is a Paladin of the Elite Council with the goal set to ensure the safety of the Blue. This led to all kinds of drama with Killian, who anyone who's heard of Fathom should be at least somewhat familiar with.
The short of it is at present Cannon's mind and body is shared with Taras as a result of a spell. This little glitch causes Cannon to "awake" at strange times feeling like he was dreaming and sometimes realizing during his daze he has done some things he may not normally do.
I missed the prelude issue, so I can only tell you the lowdown from issues 1 and 2. Issue 1 started off with Cannon, being used by Taras broke out of solitary confinement and ended up in Prague in a hotel, where he pretty much had a nervous breakdown. He and Akiko then take a sabattical to Sweden, but it's short-lived as Cannon discovers some bad stuff going down in Japan. Being a government relations guys between the US and Japan he decides to look into it by confronting a guy who goes by the name of the Shark. This leads to Sharks people attacking Cannon and stealing the element he wore around his neck. Unfortunately for the left behind contingent of his attackers when Cannon was knocked out Taras rose and left Cannon a little present when he awoke.
Issue 2 picked up with Shark looking to sell the element and Cannon looking to stop him. This leads us into more action as Cannon tries to stop Shark, but he fails and learns that Shark is working with the Japanese Self Defense Forces (Jieitai). And the issue closes with a cliffhanger as we see Taras' brother, Biranha, and troops emerge from the seas promising vengeance.
All in all this tale is pretty good. It's full of action from the beginning to the end, which fits both the character and the story. The art is amazing as can be expected from every artist in the Aspen stable. There are truly some visual spectacles in the action scenes. One that comes to mind is the battle on jet skis in the second issue. Marcus To is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
In addition to the stunning artwork and well-paced yarn the use of Cannon's abilities is an innovative approach to water based powers. The way he phases in and out from solid to liquid is inspiring.
And finally, as a nice little bonus addition, in the back of these issues is a mock magazine featuring the characters of the Aspen universe. It's pretty entertaining in itself.
So my final thoughts on this book are that it's worth the dollars and it's a nice, fun entertainment experience. I expect that with more knowledge of the world it would be an even more exciting tale. For me, unfortunately, I have not yet related with the character enough to be pulled into the story as some others would. Maybe if I had caught the prelude...
So there you have it. Again, I apologize for the lateness, but I'm hoping since you all keep coming back you'll forgive me because I'm so loveable, and...'cause that's how I roll!
B.-Out
CREATOR UPDATES
J.T. Krul has gone on to enjoy great success beyond Aspen with stents on books for Marvel, Dynamite and DC. Most recently his writing has been seen on the biggest event of the year, Blackest Night, with Blackest Night: Titans and Teen Titans.
Marcus To has also made the transition over to DC, most recently working on Red Robin.
Brant W. Fowler / Writer, Letter, Creator, Reviewer, Columnist and Comic Related PR Coordinator
Brant W. Fowler has been a professional comic book letterer and logo designer for three years, and has been a freelance editor for the past five years. He has also worked with graphic design, writing and many other area of skills for several years honing his talents. You can learn all about what he's up to by visiting Gonzogoose Design. Brant is also a member of the core operations team at Comic Related.
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