Overtaken #1
Written by Frank Mastromauro
Illustrated by Marco Laurenzana
Colored by Wes Hartman
Lettered by Josh Reed
Covers by Marco Laurenzana, Peter Steigerwald and Siya Oum
Aspen Comics
Release Date: August 28, 2013
Cover Price: $1.00

Aspen Comics continues its ten year anniversary with the seventh comic book in their 10 for 10 — ten comics for one dollar — deal with Overtaken #1. The new title is Written by Frank Mastromauro and illustrated by Marco Laurenzana and Wes Hartman. Read on to find out if Overtaken has what it takes to succeed in the ever-evolving comic book industry.

When the universe was created, many alien races existed, all sharing some bit of DNA but evolving still. Those races fought one another; survival of the fittest. Today, Will and Jesse Harden have just moved from Chicago to the small, country town of Turtle Creek, MN to be near Jesse’s parents and for Will’s new journalism job. They may reside in a small town, but the cosmos is infinite, and it seems as though a universal history is beginning to repeat itself.

Fathom #2
Created by Michael Turner
Plot by David Wohl and Frank Mastromauro
Script by David Wohl
Pencils by Alex Konat
Digital Inks by Mark Roslan
Color by Beth Sotelo
Lettering by Josh Reed
Covers by (A) Alex Konat & John Starr, (B) Paul Renaud, (C) J. Scott Campbell, (D) Alex Konat & Peter Steigerwald
Aspen Comics
Release Date: August 28, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The first thing I think of when I hear the name Michael Turner is fantastic artwork. And even now, five years after the loss of this great comic artist, his legacy lives on in Fathom #2. This is the fifth volume of the series and it has continued to be a beautiful tribute to the founder of Aspen Comics. I have no doubt he would be just as pleased with this as I was.

This issue starts off with a brief look at a very remote city that is populated by a race known as the Blue. Their leader, a terrifyingly beautiful woman, has been grooming a young girl as a weapon of enormous power by enhancing her already superior genetics. Half a world away, our protagonist, Aspen Matthews, has engaged in an undersea battle with half a dozen water-breathing combatants who seem hell bent on killing her. Using her innate powers of water manipulation, she attempts to disperse their attack. Unknown to Aspen, however, her opponents also have a few tricks up their sleeves, metaphorically speaking that is.

Legend of the Shadow Clan #4
Written by David Wohl and Brad Foxhoven
Illustrated by Cory Smith
Colored by John Starr
Lettered by Josh Reed
Covers by Cory Smith and John Starr
Aspen Comics
Release Date: May 8, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Holy ninja throwing star! Legend of the Shadow Clan #4 is exactly how a penultimate issue for a story-arc should resemble. Aspen Comics truly has a gem with this urban ninja story written by David Wohl and Brad Foxhoven with art from Cory Smith.

The fourth issue begins right where the third’s cliffhanger left off: teenage wonder-child, Morgan Himura is attacked by a group of heavily armed ninja assassins at a dance club in Chelsea, Manhattan. Able to fend them off with some kick-butt, innate action moves””with a little help from the mysterious twin sisters””she soon meets up with her brother, Braydon and their secretive grandfather who are also on the run from ninjas. Meanwhile, during his investigation of the disappearance of a friend, their younger brother, Pogo, uses his expert hacking skills and makes a startling discovery that will place his siblings and grandfather in immediate jeopardy. Questions are answered and more emerge as the Himura children fight for their lives while their parents are in the custody of the very man responsible for the attacks: Koji Tokurei.

Homecoming #3
Written by David Wohl
Art by Emilio Laiso
Colors by Brett Smith
Letters by Josh Reed
Created by Michael Turner, David Wohl, Brad Foxhoven, and Scott Lobdell
Aspen Comics
Release Date: January 23, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

A meteorite has crashed in the Mojave Desert. Local radio DJ Tom “The Talking Tornado” Vinson tracks the meteorite and meets a mysterious death. The Feds “” the whole alphabet soup of agencies “” investigate the site and the deaths of Vinson and two local deputies. Their question as they look at this “meteor crash” site is not just what killed the three men, but where did it go?

In previous issues of Homecoming, we were introduced to Celeste Lee, a high school girl who inexplicably showed up at her old house after she went missing ten years earlier. Only now she has strange, alien powers and a bad case of amnesia. The house’s new occupant, Hunter, took in Celeste and enrolled her in high school with him. Now, Celeste’s mother, Carla, shows up and the two try to piece together their experience 10 years ago.

Charismagic: The Death Princess #1
Written by Vince Hernandez
Art by Emilio Lopez
Colors by Emilio Lopez, Jocelyn Dunn, Ivy Beth Gladstone
Letters by Josh Reed
Covers by Emilio Lopez, Khary Randolph, and Siya Oum
Aspen Comics
Release Date: November 7, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Charismagic: The Death Princess is a spin-off miniseries from the original series. It introduces a formidable supervillain named Orlana, a powerful magician who can manipulate and control the minds of others. She uses this ability to enslave her kinsmen and build a kingdom. Kon and his ally Serke make a foolish and ill-fated attempt to invade Orlana’s kingdom. In defeat, Kon abandons Serke and runs off into another dimension and vows to return. Meanwhile, Orlana ensnares Serke into her web of influence and corrupts his mind. On his return Kon reaches out to some fellow warriors to join him on his quest to take down the evil princess.

The first portion of Charismagic: The Death Princess #1 is a prologue to the actual story. Personal bias: I’m not usually a fan of prologues and tend to skim them whenever I read a novel or comic. Writer Vince Hernandez introduces Orlana and Kon to the readers with a brief, narration-heavy opening that flies through Orlana’s childhood and Kon’s over-ambitious attack on her empire. I had difficulty paying attention to this section. The magic world and its backstory are intricately planned and detailed, but much of this information might be better conveyed if it’s sprinkled into the action.