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A Haunting on Mars #1 delivers a Resident Evil sci-fi vibe

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A Haunting on Mars #1

Mars is a wasteland: A dead colony, founded by a dead billionaire, holding darkness and secrets within. Secrets which Echo Team are sent to uncover. A hacker. A psionic. An empath. A soldier. And their corpo loyalist leader. They’ve crashed far from the LZ and their sanity’s already unraveling… A Haunting on Mars #1 delivers an opening that feels a bit like a sci-fi spin on Resident Evil.

Written by Zach Chapman, A Haunting on Mars #1 is an interesting first issue. A rag tag, mysterious group, is brought together on a mission for an equally mysterious and ominous corporation. Their mission? To retrieve something from Mars. But, each member has only a sliver of what’s going on and of course the mission doesn’t go right from the start.

Throw in some techno/industrial music, and A Haunting on Mars #1 feels a bit like the first Resident Evil film… but on Mars. Each has a team who you’re not sure who you can trust. There’s a setting that’s abandoned for unknown reasons. There’s even a clearly evil corporation involved. Finally, throw in some mutated dogs and you can see the roots of the comic. And that’s not a bad thing. That film ruled!

Chapman throws a lot into the issue with teases of a war, team members with psionic, empath, and tech abilities, and then there’s that ending. It all comes together in a rock and roll sort of way and comes off as pop/sci-fi/horror fun. Sit back and enjoy the ride hoping for surprising twists and shocks.

The art by Ruairi Coleman is good. With color by Steve Canon and Maja Opacic and lettering by Chapman the comic plays off of its desolation well. Mars feels empty and ominous, a getting vibe to get while reading the comic. There’s also a smart decision to make the comic futuristic without going over the top. Space suits are rather simple which prevents them from being a distraction and making the reader guess a bit about how it all works. This is a case where less is more. The comic focuses on the character and the trust and lack of it between them.

A Haunting on Mars #1 is fun pulp sci-fi. The characters each have their role and it hits familiar notes, but overall, it’s a fun read that you can just sit back and enjoy. Now, to find that Resident Evil soundtrack to listen to while reading the rest.

Story: Zach Chapman Art: Ruairi Coleman
Color: Steve Canon and Maja Opacic Letterer: Zach Chapman
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Graphic Policy was provided with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics

Earth’s Most Dangerous Hacker is Captured and Forced On A Suicide Mission into a Haunted House On Mars. A Haunting on Mars is coming soon!

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A hot-headed hacker is forced onto a team of corpo scum tasked with retrieving a dangerous piece of tech from a haunted house. She must survive double-crossing teammates and the bizarre mysterious horrors within.

Mission at the Mansion:  High above the long dead Mars colony, atop Olympus Mons, looms Emmeric Deschutes’ mansion. Inside shadows twist, ancient automated defenses cycle, corpses rot and a priceless technology lays dormant, waiting for the corporate Echo Team to retrieve it.

An Unstable Team: The Deschutes corporation has assembled a team of experts to retrieve the tech–Cass is an anti-corporate terrorist hacker, forced on the mission against her will. Fozli is a junkie empath with a sixth sense that suffers PTSD from corpo wars. Paz is one of the most powerful psionics that’s ever lived, but her powers make her unstable. Ryker is a company man, in it for the paycheck, but quickly growing disillusioned with the Deschutes Corporation. Lastly, Morgan is their mission leader who knows more than he lets on. Together they combat the horrors on Mars while battling to keep their sanity.

A Cruel MacGuffin: The Core is a bottled singularity; the matrix in a box. Digital immortality. Inside it are the ghosts of the people who once lived on Mars. The Deschutes corporation’s secret plan is to retrieve the Core and place a price on afterlife. Little does the team know that the tech’s creator now resides inside the Core as a merciless, sadistic god a la I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream.

The Hacker’s Choice: After escaping the haunted mansion, the Hacker must return the tech to the corporation in exchange for her freedom back on Earth, or destroy it, dooming herself, but ending the suffering of her teammates, and other souls stuck inside the Core.

A Haunting on Mars is written and lettered by Zach Chapman, art by Ruairi Coleman, and colors by Steve Canon and Maja Opacic.

By the Horns Returns in April with “Dark Earth”

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Scout Comics has announced that By the Horns will be back in comic book shops this April! The celebrated sci-fi, fantasy adventure series by co-creators Markisan Naso and Jason Muhr will return as a  new maxi-series called By The Horns: Dark Earth.

By The Horns: Dark Earth #1 begins six months after the explosive events of By The Horns #8. Since their hellacious battle in the sky with the evil sorceress Feng Po, Elodie, Sajen and Evelyn have been reluctantly settling into their new lives as farmers in Wayfarer. But their days spent tilling the land in overalls proves short-lived when a mysterious blight devastates the continent of Solothus and forces them to take up a new quest.

The new series also welcomes new colorist Steve Canon, whose past credits include Jack Irons: The Steel Cowboy and The Kill Journal.

By The Horns: Dark Earth #1 will feature a main cover by Jason and Steve. A retailer threshold variant cover by White Ash and Glarien artist Romina Moranelli will also be available, along with a Scout Comics Website Exclusive cover to be revealed in March.