From Aspen Comics, Scott Lobdell, Alex Konat, and Cory Smith.

 

It has been a while since I read a Fathom book.  Maybe as far back as that long ago issue one from Image Comics.  I remember it being a fascinating and original book, the story of Aspen Matthews discovering her true self and all the secrets under the waves.  We’ve been reading adventures on the surface world since comics began.  However aside from Namor and Aquaman no character explored what took place below.  Furthermore, no woman explored these depths.

Encompassing two to three times more space than the continents, there should be no shortage to stories and surprises in Aspen’s adventures through the oceans.  This series should last hundreds of years before a writer needs to bring in something crazy.  Things like Aspen in space can wait until all the secrets of the seas have been revealed.  There is no need to get crazy, right?

Wrong.  Here is a sub Saharan desert ocean for you to explore.  I can’t get over the brilliance of this idea. If anyone reading this article has ever had to dig for a well you are aware that there is water everywhere below us.  The only variable is depth.  Aspen is hundreds of miles below the desert and yet there is a vast ocean below.  Scientific egos aside, the fact is that the oceans are still grossly unexplored and anything like this could exist.  There could be alien craft hiding under all that water and coral, much like the mysterious object recently discovered in the Baltic Sea.

Although an army of divers trying to kill a hybrid water based hero is low on the likelihood scale, I will admit.  Aspen is escaping from her capture (which happened last issue, and I did not read that one) and has to free herself from more levels than your worst battles.  There is the lab, the church, and the desert below the desert.  Foes come from north south east and west, but unlike on earth, they also come from above and below.  These fights are not written like every other comic book battle.  Attention is paid to the fact that this is happening under water and thus things are possible in this realm which are not on land.

Speaking of paying attention, the art in this is incredible.  It has always been tricky to convey that something is taking place under water.  Old cartoons would make the entire screen wavy, which makes for difficult viewing.  Some comics throw a diving mask and a SCUBA tank on the characters and say, “good enough”!  Not Fathom.  Every moment that Aspen is in water, there is no doubt that she is immersed.  It is in her movement.  She is drawn in ways that would not make sense on land or in air, but look naturally fluid.  To quote a great philosopher.

Be like water making its way through cracks.  Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it.

Aspen is water.  She moves and flows, and finds ways to defeat obstacles and enemies that surround her.  The only time she isn’t in control is when she is drawn through the alien ship and into a dry space.

Within that space, Aspen finds the previously believed to be dead  Mister Nakamura standing before her.  Instead of dying, he built himself back up and has taken some of the ocean’s technology for what will no doubt become nefarious purposes.

If there is any complaint to have about this book, it is my own fault.  There is SO much going on in here that I, as a new reader, feel lost.  Yes there is a nice “previously on Fathom” first page of the comic that was helpful.  However, reading a story from the beginning and having a quick summary are two different things.  I will be seeking out back issues of Fathom now to enjoy the full story.  I suggest you all do the same.