shawn87's Michael Turner's Fathom: The Definitive Edition #1 - Fathom review

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    The World Of Fathom

    The Story: 

    Aspen's adventure begins as she learns who she is and what she's capable of under the guidance of an intriguing underwater creature who plans on using her for his own reasons. 

    My Thoughts:

    The late Michael Turner has been one of my favorite artists ever since the first time I laid eyes on his work. He has such an incredible style and has been known for the way he draws female characters. So it should come as no surprise that his first creation would have a female lead character. 

    The first story arc establishes Aspen's character enough to have readers fascinated with her and the world she inhabitants. The stunning visualizations really carry the story well as a war spirals out of control leaving Aspen to find out who she really is and who she wants to be. The story was fun to read as you're drifting through the pages of this underwater world. It's a comic experience unlike anything else I've ever had.

    The second story arc finds Aspen adjusting to life after the previous ordeal she endured. Certain characters are written out while a new one is introduced. A man by the name of Baha appears. He's definitely a rather eccentric character with a personality disorder. He and Aspen took an underwater journey in search of Big Moe, an enormous whale that apparently Baha has been tracking for some time. While some may not find this story arc as thrilling as the first, it does serve its purpose which is to display the growth of Aspen from her first adventure to this one. The length is considerably shorter but the same feeling of fun and excitement is felt while reading it. 

    The third story arc introduced the villain named Vana who we find out was the mother of Taras. It appears she's here for revenge and takes it out on Connor Hawke. Somehow Aspen knows she has Connor but we aren't told how she's aware of this being that she's in San Diego and he's off somewhere else having left a long time ago. Sometimes the lack of explanation is a little irksome. You feel as if you've been propelled into the middle of the story rather than starting at the beginning and with little to no explanation time and time again, it does get tiresome. To enjoy the comic you sort of have to just accept things the way they are. The amount of plot holes was a negative but the incredible artwork more than make up for it.

    The last issue finally delves deeper into the origins of the Black and Blue as well as Aspen's background. Leave it to someone like Geoff Johns to come in at this opportune moment and establish Aspen's character as only someone like he is capable of. He's done it with other characters and he began to do it with Aspen here. In one issue he quickly laid the foundation for what looked to be a thrilling story arc. This was said to be the last Fathom comic Michael Turner worked on. 

    Needless to say this artwork is stunning. It's easily the best thing about this series. The colors are incredibly vibrant. Michael Turner does an amazing job visually creating this world for readers. There are so many gorgeous double-paged spreads that will just blow you away. Easily some of the most breathtaking art I've ever seen in comics.

    A lot of work was put into this book that runs about 455 pages. It's jam packed full of material that includes introductions, material never before collected in trades, an extensive cover gallery as well as the Fathom Swimsuit gallery. The price is a bit steep ringing in at $49.99 for the book. If you do have the opportunity to ever read it, I recommend doing so. It's a book that should be read by comic fans as Michael Turner left us with a great gift. Check it out and become immersed in the imaginative world Turner put his heart and soul in to create. 

    Rating: 4.5/5

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