Underground #1

No longer being able to buy any comics (save Walking Dead) I  have been finding new, interesting, and free alternatives in the indie comic sphere of things (see High Moon)which,  are slowly satistating my reading hunger

Recently while reading a friends’ comic blog I came across an entry about a series being done called Underground.

Underground is a story based in Marion, KY wherein natural caves are being endangered by a local citzen wanting to open up them up to the public, creating an “attraction park” of sorts to bring income into the financially strapped town. Your basic “evil developer looking to make a buck” story.

The 1st issue is already up & free online an honestly there is a lot more to it then you’d think at first glance.  In 23 pages you get a sense of every character involved and even partially feel for the two rangers in the midst of a relationship ,caught in the middle of the chaos, as it were within Marion, over monetizing the cave. The story doesn’t focus ENTIRELY on the relationship dynamic, there are points of action sprinkled throughout, which keep the story from getting stale so no worries. The story has  a slow build feeling to it though, so be forewarned if that ain’t your bag

Jeff Parker (Agents of Atlas) writes this tale and once again proves that original & compelling storytelling can come from the most unexpected of settings. I’ll admit when it comes to Parker I am a bit bias but the guy can spin a good yarn.  Underground is a departure from his more popular ‘Agents’ style of writing in that it is based more in reality. Gone are the capes and talking bad-ass gorillas, and in it’s place, the stark realism of a town in the US like most economically hurt towns.  The realism and Parker’s way of writing within Underground,  bring to mind Greg Rucka’s overall writing style, in that like Rucka,  Parker wants to convey the somewhat troubled atmosphere within the town and how it influences the characters living there. Steve Lieber who is likely best known for his artwork on Whiteout adds some compelling visuals to this first issue. There are colored versions of Underground but, personally I say read the black and white version,  I get a lot more from his b/w style then the colored panels they have posted of the comic.

Bottom line, it’s an intereting story thus far and though I have pretty much sworn off most comics I will definitely buy this when it comes out in trade.

If you liked Parker or Lieber’s previous stuff I say take a shot at this when it comes out in the next month or so, at the very least check out the PDF of the first issue linked below.

For the comics’ development blog/site click here

For the first issue click here.(It’s a pdf so you’ve been warned)

Ok back I go into my migraine induced haze.

Till I find more interesting indie stuff out there.

Hurdy Gur