“Yesterday’s” Comic> Fathom #0

“I lost my contact lens out there.”

Michael Turner’s Fathom #0

Aspen MLT (January, 2011–digital copy)

WRITER/PENCILER/CREATOR: Michael Turner

INKER: Joe Weems V

COLORISTS: Jonathan D. Smith, Steve Firchow, Richard Isanove, Peter Steigerwald, & Matt Nelson (not sure why the names get smaller as the list goes on)

LETTERER: Dennis Heisler

Marine biologist Aspen Matthews is surfing while the captions tell her backstory and the visuals switch to a presumably simultaneous event. Among her memories was going scuba diving for the first time but only realizing four minutes in that she wasn’t breathing, and then she stopped being able to breathe because she forgot to turn her oxygen on. (I’m guessing she failed the class after that.) While down there she caught site of a strange man with crab gauntlets, who might be tied to the same people attacking an undersea lab she was hoping to get to work for. The leader is captured, and Aspen is being asked in to check an unusual find. Coincidence?

What they got right: With one hiccup I’ll get to in a moment the art is beautiful, mostly thanks to the amazing coloring…which if you have five colorists you hope the coloring would be good. This preview story introduces the main character and some hint of the situation she’s finding herself heading for.

What they got wrong: Take it from someone with the same problem at times: the characters are kind of thin. I’d write it off on the grey skinned people with crab armor being I’m guessing from some undersea kingdom, but Aspen herself and the male surface humans in the base suffer the same problem. They aren’t Aeon Flux or Phantom: 2040 levels of thin but that would have been less noticeable. It kind of ruins the cheesecake value of Aspen in her surfing outfit or the sea women when I’m getting feminist style “where are the organs” thoughts in my head and agreeing with them.

What else is there: It should be noted that this is not connected to the same Fathom from Comico and the Elementals comic, though this version was previously published under Top Cow.

What I think overall: As a preview comic is it intriguing and I wouldn’t mind looking into it should I get the chance in the future.