Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS!
We have a fine specimen for your perusal today. This beautiful, veracious creature was found in the distant reaches of the worldly brain of Steigerwaldland. The beast is hardly awake in its current state... but from what I have read thus far... I can guarantee this WORLD will swallow you whole.
This world has only received a taste, the debut of Aspen's newest series, "The Zoohunters" art and story by Peter Steigerwald. In addition to a review, I may delve into the topic of WORLD-CREATION. I am an amateur when compared to the likes of Steigerwald but we can all learn from the morsel we will now devour.
The "Prelude" for this new comic can be found in the Aspen Comics "Free Comic Book Day: Worlds of Aspen 2014" for more information on how to receive this comic please go to
www.aspenstore.com.
Even as the page turns, we are transported into another realm. The vibrant pinks and purples that surround the lone hunter gives us the immediate feeling of being very far away from anything we know. She lays in the grass under a knarly trunk of a tree topped with a crown of whitish coral-like webbing. Glowing pink eggs grow from the base of this exotic tree. The sight of her weapon is trained on something in the distance. We are in Northern Hah'suFari, Grand Plains: Idulani and we are HUNTING.
The huntress, Minalara or Min, has her sights on a prize, a large beast that looks like very strange zebra-antalope with tusks. Even though Min is hurt in the process, she uses only her voice and a tranquilizer dart to bring it down. Here we find two character traits of our beautiful main character: she does not like to make mistakes and she is humane. An odd choice of words, I know, considering she might not be human...
Just in there first six pages, Steigerwald has established the beginnings of a character in a world that is not our own.
Turn to page seven. We have traveled to the Live Cargo holding at Poslan Cosmoport. Min becomes the only human-looking character on the following pages. Dialogue ensues and we find out that she was hired to find, capture and bring in the Atrurk, the strange zebra-antalope with tusks. We meet the short, many eyed, touchy-feely Qaurec who seems to be the leader/owner of the facility.
Qaurec wants Min and Min wants nothing to do with him or his methods. Within these last five pages we are given another look into the soft humanity of Min, her expertise in hunting and knowledge of the "animal"-life she traps. In the end she purchases a dog-like, monkey flower lizard with a giraffe tongue in exchange for her help in convincing a yet-unknown character named Abros to work for this little toad-like Qaurec.
She cuddles her new friend. And the Prelude ends.
I want one so bad! Isn't he cute!!!
I will leave you here, wanting and waiting for September to come so that we can see and read where this comic will transport us to next. On the topic of world creation... MAYBE I can get a small interview with the Artist-Author Peter Steigerwald.
Hmmm... you reading this Mr. Steigerwald???
Peter Steigerwald is Co-Owner of Aspen MLT, Inc. He is an internationally celebrated artist and colorist widely know for bringing life and color to the works of Michael Turner as well as other top pencilers in the industry. "The Zoohunters" is Mr. Steigerwald's first creator-owned publication. He is the creator, author and artist on this endeavor. For more information on "The Zoohunters" go to https://www.facebook.com/TheZooHunters or www.aspencomics.com.
