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New-Gen #1
Posted 05 Sept 2008
Writer: Shaun McLaughlin
Artist: Abdul H. Rashid
Artist: Alexander Cutri & Abdul H. Rashid (cover)
Letters: Altercomics - Matias Timarchi
Colors: Alexander Cutri
Publisher: Marvel
4.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Paul Sheers
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I first found out about New-Gen when visiting Marvel’s
website few weeks ago. Under their news section I found a press
release for New-Gen, as well as the first three issues of the comic
book in digital form. Although not an original concept of Marvel, the
New-Gen team of A.P.N.G. Enterprises, Inc. headed by Matonti brothers
(Chris and J.D.) and Julia Coppola has successfully mustered the
support of Marvel to distribute their comics and lend a hand to this
promising new venture.
New-Gen revolves around the concept of nanotechnology and
its manipulation for both potentially good and evil ends. Pivoting
upon the characters of Gabriel and Deadalus (a.k.a. Sly) the story
line of New-Gen focuses on a power struggle between the
ideological uses and ultimate goals of using nanotechnology. Located
in another dimension, tangential to Earth, the New-Gen world is one of
utopian harmony and social balance. Having created a perfected form of
nanotech the two scientists Gabriel and Deadalus shape the world in
which they live to create a new and better world.
“New-Gen fuses
entertainment and socially important issues into a cohesive
mix.”
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Despite their initial commonalities as fellow scientists, Deadalus
begins to have much more grandiose visions for not only their world,
but for others as well. Juxtaposed to the story's initial portrayal of
a utopian world is the quickly realized schism between Gabriel and
Deadalus, one in which Deadalus perceives nanotechnology as a tool for
gaining power and where Gabriel sees it as a means of creating balance
and order.
Part one of the six issue comic book series dives right into this
clash between protagonist Gabriel and antagonist Deadalus. The story
line does a good job of establishing the present events of a battle
between Gabriel and Deadalus, while also punctuating the battle with a
brief backstory of Gabriel and Deadalus’s past relationship. It
is in this battle that the ideological differences between Gabriel and
Deadalus are brought to the surface. The catalyst is Deadalus’s
release of nanobots amongst the populous of New-Gen, infusing an
entire generation of “New-Genians” with nanotech powers
and physical transformations. As a result, Gabriel exiles Deadalus to
another dimension and begins his work towards helping those affected
by the nanobots, including Deadalus’s own daughter. Likewise, in
an effort to protect his own children from the transformative effects
of the nanobots, Gabriel sends his twin sons to Earth where they are
raised by two sentient beings that have themselves been manifested out
of the nanobots. Despite his good intentions in trying to protect his
children, another rift soon arises between Gabriel and his wife Thea.
Thea expresses her grief and regret at having been deprived of her
only children by putting on a cold demeanor towards Gabriel and
ultimately making his decision that much more painful.
Deadalus’s story continues in the underworld to which he has
been banished by acquainting us with the barren environment in which
he is now captive and the strange creatures that live there. Twisted
with the rage of his exile and the deprivation of power to which he
feels he is entitled, Deadalus soon realizes his ability to control
the creatures that reside in the underworld and twist them to his
will. Utilizing their ability to eat through the metal and rock of the
underworld, Deadalus finds a way out of his underworld prison and
into, what he eventually finds out to be, new and parallel
dimensions.
In creating the six issue series, New-Gen creators A.P.N.G.
Enterprises, Inc. solicited the help of debut artists Abdul H. Rashid
as their pencilist and inker, Alexander Cutri as their colorist, and
Matias Timarchi of Altercomics Studios as their letterer. As an
artistic team, they have come together to create a beautifully
rendered world that speaks not only to one’s imagination, but
also to an emotional understanding of the story. Uniquely drawn in its
somewhat cinema-graphic style, the artists of New-Gen have done well
in their efforts to create motion within a motionless medium.
Furthermore, the articulation of color serves well as a visual
reminder to the seamless nuances of each panel. Likewise, facial
expression and body language are conveyed meaningfully to depict a
storyline that is rife with struggle. Working together for the first
time, the artists of the New-Gen project have found a compelling voice
through their collective talent, bringing to life a concept that seems
to have no bounds. In all, the effect is one of vitality and great
potential for future developments, leaving little doubt as to why
Marvel has chosen to distribute New-Gen nation-wide. Tending
towards the optimistic side, this seems to be a very promising venture
that A.P.N.G. has set off on and based upon what I have seen of the
subsequent issues, it is definitely not something to be pushed
aside.
With New-Gen’s imaginative and engaging story line,
it is a refreshing and optimistic view of the future. Such refreshing
reminders of hope and non-apocalyptic scenarios are seldom seen in the
realm of comic books anymore. Instead of reinforcing pervading
feelings of helplessness about the future, New-Gen walks a
different line by infusing discussions of environmental stewardship,
social responsibility, ethics, and cutting edge technology
(nanotechnology) into its overall concept to make for a more positive
view of our future world. However, this does not go to say that the
creators of New-Gen are oblivious to the realities currently
facing humanity, on the contrary they seem to be embracing those
realities by presenting them to a younger audience, in a medium they
can relate to, and giving them the hope needed to make the necessary
changes for the future. Fusing entertainment and socially important
issues into a cohesive mix, New-Gen has the potential to be a
catalyst for change and the bulwark upon which a new generation of
socially conscious individuals can be borne.
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