Review: Altered Reality Team-Up #1

When you find a really fun independent comic book publisher, you want to climb to the top of the highest mountain and shout about your new discovery. I hope all of the work in the gym pays off, because it“s about time for me to put on my hiking shoes and start climbing because Altered Reality Comics has helped me remember why I fell in love with comics as a kid.

The Ian Nichols penned Altered Reality Team-UP #1 presents readers with the opportunity to learn about a fresh Super Hero universe that is young, vibrant, and on the rise. If you want to introduce a young comic fan to something new and different, this story will give you a great place to start. Our heroes ROX, Osprey, Lizard, and Dr. Aquatic team up to find a way to bring their friend, and fellow hero Rhodie, back to Earth after she was stolen, in the heat of battle, and transported to the eerie alternate dimension of Tartarus. This dimension is not just a place it simply”¦exists. There is no escape, and you can only hope to bargain your way out. Hopefully, Rhodie can find a way to come home. (You don“t expect me to give away the best parts, do you?)

While the story is solid, the key take away for me was how accessible it is for all readers. We“re presented with a solid piece of comic book writing that is not overly dark and dreary. This is why I feel that readers both young and old will enjoy the book. You“re not going to find a complex maze of trap doors in the pages of this Team-Up book, but instead you will find fun. This is something some of the larger comic book publishers could take a cue from. Put the fun back in comics! This is what we want.

With this being a team up book, there are several artists who need to be recognized. Chris Campana, Nate Lovett, Ian Chase Nichols, and Rich Woodall share in the work of bringing these pages to life. Each of the artists has their own style, but this works well as the story flows from one scene to the next. I especially am drawn to the work in the third chapter that is provided by Ian Chase Nichols. When I study these pages, the ink and color transports me back to some of the earlier works by one of my favorite comic artists, Mike Grell. The additional pin-up pages by Dylan Andrews and Joseph Schmalke express more amazing views of some of Altered Reality“s hero universe.

In a quest to celebrate the fun that is comics, I will continue to climb mountains and scream out to the world about quality books that you may not yet have been introduced to. Altered Reality Team-Up #1 is such a book. Tell your local comic shop that you want it, and you will not be disappointed.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.