Artifact One Issue 0 - (Review)

By: LowfatArtifact One Issue 0 is the first issue of a new action Science Fiction series by Aspen Comics. Its 15 pages feature gorgeous art and enough intrigue to leave readers eagerly awaiting the next chapter!Story ArcRemi digs up some stones in a cliffside cave on the planet Adenia, She has been harvesting supplies all day, and she returns to the Kingdom of Kaladon to sell her wares at market. Along the way, she passes by a throng of people, gathered tightly and listening intently to an ominous sermon. But Remi has little use for the church’s proselytizing. She sidesteps the crowd without giving much heed.Remi returns home with her findings. Her father warns her to keep her discovery secret, lest the church become aware and take measures against the possibilities it might yield. That night, across town, Remi’s father’s warning tragically is validated.Comic ReviewArtifact One Issue 0 is a 13-page treasure. Its characters are great. The reader is quickly introduced to a number of folks and organizations, from the shrewd herb salesmen at the market, to Remi’s supportive father, to the intimidating, duplicitous church. Remi, the protagonist, is a capable, curious, and fearless explorer. It would be easy to draw comparisons between her and Indiana Jones. And, although the book seems to be gearing up toward an epic conflict between Kaldon’s unjust rulers and their oppressed people, I would equally love to see Remi on more solo expeditions. Conflict is the single most common theme in comics, and it’s refreshing to see the theme of discovery explored.The art in Artifact One is terrific. The characters are alien enough to be interesting, yet expressive enough to still retain humanlike qualities, making them compelling but relatable. Or they are simply multiple beasts mashed together like chimeras. Remi’s steed, for example, seems to be the bizarre and fun offspring of a chocobo and a llama.The lines are clean and the colors are astounding. But, as beautiful as the art in Artifact One is, I do have a couple small concerns. First, the art is repeated in a few panels (the vines, and the crowd in the marketplace).Second, and this is admittedly minor and quite subjective: I wish there was greater variation in line weight. The lines that create characters and objects in the foreground are just as thin as the lines used for buildings, forests, and mountain ranges in the background. With so few black areas, and no crosshatching for shading, this means the job of creating the illusion of depth rests solely on the colors. Fortunately, the colors are almost always more than up to this task.In the above panel, there are no fewer than seven(!) layers of depth: the flowers in the foreground, Remi and her chicken llama, the overgrowth-covered mountains, the plateau, the dead forest, more mountains, and, finally, the sky. And those last three layers feature no lineart at all. This is a breathtaking amount of coloring detail. It made me feel like a tourist in this world, and it made me want to read the issue again and again.I have two final observations of Artifact One. First, it is a colorful space adventure featuring a protagonist who soon be on the run from her mighty, tyrannical government. Along the way, the reader is treated to the fascinating, bizarre denizens of the alien world she inhabits. This imaginative drama will inevitably draw comparisons to another currently-running outer space saga published by a different, independent comic book company. But Artifact One has plenty to differentiate itself from the inevitable comparisons. So far, it’s a fantastical but wholly unique experience.Second, exactly how many fingers does Remi have on each hand? Is it four, or five, or six? This is not necessarily a criticism or a complaint about the art; merely an amusing observation.Artifact One is an inspired, fun read with compelling characters and captivating art. It is easily worth picking up and spending some time in colorful Kaladon.For more information on Artifact One, check out the Aspen Comics website.Thanks to Aspen Comics for providing us with digital review copies in exchange for our honest reviews!