by Jayden Leggett, Assistant Editor

Here is a little something that I feel compelled to bring to the attention of all comic book fans. Released by Septagon Studios, and written by Lara Fuentes with art by Patricio Clarey, Archeologists of Shadows I: The Resistanceis a visual feast that is probably unlike anything you have ever seen before in a comic book. Thankfully, it also packs one heck of an interesting story.

The very first thing that I simply must mention is how amazing the artwork in this book is. Using a very effective combination of illustration, sculptures, photography and digital composition, Patricio Clarey’s art in this book was an absolute joy to view and is completely unlike any other comic artwork I have ever seen.

A very mechanical cyber/steam-punk aesthetic is used throughout, with the people and their environments comprised of collaged photographs of various different household items. Razors, electrical cords, telephone handsets, speakers, bolts etc are all used to amazing effect.

Further enhancing this visual feast are beautiful lighting and depth effects, as well as different colour schemes that wash across the panels in a striking way, creating wonderfully different moods and atmospheres without harshly jarring against each other. In summary, the art is as pleasurable to your eyes as sex is to your special parts. Expect to experience many an eye-gasm.

Plot wise, the story is set in a world in which human beings are in various stages of being “mechanized”, a process in which their organic body parts are replaced with mechanical parts until a person becomes 100% mechanised and only their soul remains. According to the “authorities” (their government), it is “God’s will” that humanity ends up this way. Hence all of the characters in this book either resemble robots or cyborgs, and until I got further into the story I was confused as to whether these beings were actually human or not, obviously a deliberate move by the book’s creators.

As you could probably imagine, not everybody willingly wants to become a droid. The two main protagonists, Baltimo and Alix, are characters who are only partially mechanised just enough to meet the minimum requirements of the authorities and avoid being sent to Saint Peter (which is never shown in this book but sounds like a place you definitely do not want to visit). Thanks to the intervention of a mysterious yet helpful stranger who turns out to be a member of the resistance, our two heroes are apparently on a journey to fulfill the will of their Gods, which is also seemingly at odds with the way that “the authorities” interpret their God’s wishes…

While the themes and ideas of mechanization and the resistance vs the authority were very entertaining and immersive, there are a couple of issues that slightly drag down the overall quality of the story. For starters, some of the dialogue is a bit unimaginative and could have used a bit of polish, which is a shame when the overarching storyline is so creative and original. Worse still are a couple of grammatical errors that should have been picked up during a proof-read. Phrases like “How are the alter egos will find them” and “How can even be sure” really do shatter the reader’s immersion somewhat, but I could forgive these rare occurrences as I had a great time overall with this book.

Another welcome feature is the inclusion of a whole heap of pages that feature various sketches and an insight into how the unique photo-fusion art style of this book was created, as well as a preview from the next installment of this series. Combined with the tantalizing final page of the first story, this resulted with me being desperate for the next issue.

All told, Archeologists of Shadows I: The Resistance is not only an amazing comic book but an amazing piece of art in it’s own right, and I implore everybody who reads this review to go and grab themselves a copy. You won’t be disappointed.

ComicsOnline gives Archeologists of Shadows I: The Resistance 4.5 out of 5 mechanical machine-gunning grannies.

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