Spectrum #1
Written, Penciled, and Inked by Peter Simeti
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $3

Dr. Glass. He’s a scientist with a personal investment in the work on a revolutionary body suit that would help the paralyzed walk again. After 182 failures, Glass turns to a synthetic element, Translusium, that he believes that if bonded to the suit will finally make it work. His bold step works, and on try 182, he gets his success. Glass finds that the suit also has an unplanned side effect of being both flexible but incredibly tough, and has neural and nerve enhancement properties. But when the project’s sponsors learn of the suit’s properties, they immediately see the military functions for it and the profits it can bring. When Glass refuses to hand the suit over, the unnamed sponsors simply send their hired gunmen to retrieve the suit. Glass’s two associates are quickly gunned down, and in an ensuing explosion, it is believed that Glass has died. Even Glass thinks so. But he is alive. In what condition he is in, and how he survived, is unknown to him, but he is still alive. And those responsible for tonight’s attack will soon learn the true power of Project: Spectrum.

Pulling from a huge assortment of comic book influences and reality-grounded sci-fi riffs, Peter Simetri (The Chair), who takes on both writing and artwork responsibilities in Spectrum, creates a blend that will draw in both superhero fans and enthusiasts of character-based revenge tales. Simetri’s lead here, Mr. Glass, draws comparisons to Tony Stark — a gifted scientist drawn into military creations against his will. His suit, dubbed Project: Spectrum, draws some elements from the symbiote in Spider-Man and the fictional Adamantium metal, and combines the two into a million dollar hybrid that foreshadows the rise of an unlikely and unwilling vigilante superhero. And in Simetri’s final panels of issue one, there are a few subtle hints to Sam Raimi‘s underappreciated Darkman, that also foreshadow a scientist-pushed-too-far mentality that will blend brains and brawn to pave the way for victory for Dr. Glass.

All of these references though are not to say that the book is merely a blended smoothie of bite-sized sci-fi morsels. Simetri takes a highbrow approach to his set up, as he brings the debate of science for the use of peaceful advancement for all mankind over military advances to give a strategical edge. This is obviously a one-sided debate for Simetri, who draws the Sponsor as a featureless, shadowed, and booming character in a suit interested only in money, whose very words are scrawled out in oversized chaotic white letters on a black bubble, while Dr. Glass is given a much smaller font in the standard black letters in a white bubble. The sheer commanding and oppressive force that the Sponsor takes when he is on the page shows the raw power he holds over the meek scientists. If this is not an allegory to the current mindset in the capitalist-based advances in the scientific field, what is?

Simetri’s artwork takes on a schizophrenic life of its own, as he changes styles multiple times throughout the book. While all done in black and white, he zig-zags from classic action splash pages, to rough and sloppy sketches, to slight exaggeration and brief hyper-realism. Simetri states in the back of issue one that it is “purposefully done to convey an artistic and visual sense of what is going on.” It is a bold experiment, and while it does showcase the range that Simetri is capable of, does not quite successfully pull off what Simetri intended, and instead makes the pages disconnect instead of a proper flow. Hopefully Simetri will try this again, with a book where mid-story style changes will reflect better on the written word.

Simetri’s first issue ends with a great nail-biting cliffhanger which leaves plenty of wiggle room for where the story will go next. Will Dr. Glass lose himself to the suit’s power, becoming a vigilante with a lost soul? Will he take up the mantle of a superhero, ridding the world of corruption and setting right the wrongs up corporations? Will he remain Dr. Glass, or allow the scientist to die a la Bruce Banner to protect his family? Peter Simetri has shown his strength in creating a powerful issue one. Let’s hope he can keep the pace as the fate of Dr. Glass is revealed.

Available at the Alterna Comic Shop.