Archeologists Of Shadows, Volume 2: Once A Nightmare
Created by Lara Fuentes and Patricio Clarey
Written by Lara Fuentes
Art by Patricio Clarey
Septagon Studios
Release Date: September 10, 2012
Cover Price: $0.99

It’s been about six months since I reviewed the first volume of this series but I was definitely looking forward to reading the sequel. Archeologists Of Shadows, Volume 2: Once  A Nightmare is just as entertaining and exceptional as the previous one. I wasn’t sure what to expect after the way the first one left the story hanging but the followup was a delight.

We find our heroes, Baltimo and Alix, in a dreamworld at the beginning of this book. They are forced to go through trials of pain and fear to reach their destination. Unfortunately for them, not everyone cooperates on their quest. I will admit, the challenges they face individually are supposed to be introspective and to give us a better look at their personalities. Instead, we find ourselves aware of the results before the battles are finished. This doesn’t detract from the storyline, but it is the one complaint I had in the entire comic. I love the story that Lara Fuentes is slowly telling, it has so many possibilities and is obviously far from over. The final scene will definitely leave you fiending for more.

Archeologists Of Shadows: Vol. 1: The Resistance
Created by Lara Fuentes & Patricio Clarey
Written by Lara Fuentes
Art by Patricio Clarey
Septagon Studios
Release Date: December 14, 2011
Cover Price: $0.99

Okay, I’m a bit late to the party with this one. I’m like the guy that shows up with a six pack of Shiner after getting off work late, only to find everyone has finished drinking. That said, the symbiosis of illustration and prose in Archeologists Of Shadows: The Resistance was astounding! I can only sit here, stunned and amazed.

Imagine a world where all things organic are being mechanized. People, animals, bugs…everything. Our protagonists, Baltimo211447w and Alix1739413x (known as files, not people), are unwilling to continue the process that is converting their world to machines. Resistance is futile or so they are told (Yeah, I used a Star Trek/Borg reference, get over it). They are offered a chance to escape this living nightmare and they take it. This is the beginning of our adventure and we are completely submerged into a beautifully rendered (both in words and art) story.

Scorn #2
Written & Created by Kevin Moyers
Art by Philipp Neundorf
Septagon Studios
Release Date: August 25, 2007
Cover price: $1.75

What we’ve got here is a tough little nut to crack, at least from my viewpoint. Behind the curtain time; sometimes it’s hard to review things that come across my proverbial desk. Some books you read, and it’s easy to say “This is good” or “This is bad.” Not so much with this one. There’s some serious subject matter going on here and a very unique art style, which brings up some good points and some bad points. I’ll get to that in a minute.

First a bit of recap: Scorn comes to us from Septagon Studios, and tells the tale of Michael, a guy who’s had a rough time of it his entire life. His mother is killed at a young age, he becomes a bit of an outcast until he meets his best friend. Unfortunately, his friend is killed in issue 1 by a wanna-be gangster by the name of Torres, which sends Michael into a spiral of violence and murder. He has given himself over to revenge and his quest continues in this issue as Michael takes a step closer to Torres while finding out some info about his almost girlfriend. There’s violence, there’s sex, and there’s murder.

Scorn #1
Written and Created by Kevin Moyers
Art by Philipp Neundorf
Septagon Studios
Release Date: June 9, 2007
Cover price: $1.75

Sorrow. Vengeance. Anger. Loneliness. Rage. The dark side of humanity’s frail emotional system is easy to turn to and even easier to lose oneself in. For Michael, these are the emotions that have plagued his life. His mother was murdered coming home from the hospital the day Michael was born. Dreams of her death have plagued Michael every night. Recently, Michael’s only friend, Glenn, was murdered outside their apartment when he tried to stop a local gang from stealing his car. The gang’s leader, Torre, put a bullet in Glenn’s head, and now all Michael can think about is doing what the law has failed to do — serve as judge, jury, and executioner. Michael’s obsession has cost him his job, his home, and most of his possessions. Now all that he has are the weapons needed to do the job. And tonight, on the rooftop his old high school, he is ready to collect.