Project IMPACT #1 – Comic Review
Project IMPACT arrived in my inbox earlier this year and I was impressed and intrigued by the sample page. I finally got a chance to read through it today.
Synopsis
The comic follows Project I.M.P.A.C.T., a government-sponsored superhero team, operating to safeguard Canada from superhuman (parahuman) threats. In the first issue, superhuman mercenaries take over a hydroelectric generating station in the Niagara Falls area and the team is called in to handle them.
Meet Project IMPACT
This first issue introduces us to a team of Canadian superheroes – The Initial Mobile Parahuman Anti-Terrorism Crisis Team – IMPACT. Established by the government to take care of parahuman threats driven north by the flashy American superheroes, Project IMPACT work under the radar, doing the dirty jobs needed to keep their country safe. It is written by Alan Russette, illustrated by Stephan Petersen and coloured/lettered by Gary Scott Beaty.
#1 of Project IMPACT is a relatively brief affair, at 32 pages. That being said, it does a great job of introducing the team and establishing their abilities. All except Damsel, which was a bit of a shame. I hope that in future issues she becomes more than just the one who “rounds out the team” and saves the hostages while the boys do all the fighting.
It also sets up the obstacles they face. I liked the way this was done. There are overt threats – the parahumans threatening the power station – and more insidious ones that are clearly setting up for an overall arc. I would have liked to know a bit more about the villains that they faced off against in the power station, perhaps a little more detail about their powers (especially the one who puts some kind of whammy on Moose). Perhaps we will get that down the line in a future issue.
The art is really nice, it has a very old school feel to it. There’s something about it that feels kinda 80s to me. I think it would be well suited to being printed on newsprint.
One slight downfall of this comic, and it is only minor, is that you might want to have a French dictionary, or google translate handy. One of the team, French Guardian, speaks in a mixture of French and English, which put my rusty high school French to the test and sent me to google on a couple of ocassions.
Where to find it
Overall it’s a solid first issue. I’d definitely pick up further issues of Project IMPACT down the line to see how the story develops. If you want to read it for yourself it’s available now on ComiXology.
