Review by Leroy Douresseaux

Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising was a science fiction comic book created by Mark Long and Nick Sagan and published by Radical Comics. The series depicted an insurrection that began onVenus against an oppressive government known as the Solar Alliance. In the sequel,Shrapnel: Hubris, the planetary revolution moves across the solar system.

As Shrapnel: Hubris #1 opens, Venus is the last free colony in the Solar System, but while it has yet to fall, it is unknown how much longer it can withstand the Alliance’s planetary siege and blockade against it. Under constant barrage from orbit and kept from replenishing much-needed supplies, the colonists of Venus find themselves in desperate circumstances. Now, notorious ex-marine turned surprise hero, Vijaya “Sam” Narayan leads a “black box mission” to deprive the enemy of its own critical resources. But haunted by the ghosts of her past and with squabbling among the men she leads, can Sam even reach her target, let alone cripple the Alliance supply line?

Shrapnel: Hubris is good military science fiction. It isn’t great, but it is quite intriguing – enough so that I want to read more. The painted art by Concept Art House captures the individuality of the characters and creates a murky, tech-heavy setting that reminds me of the sets from the film, Aliens. While the script by Sagan and co-writerClinnette Minnis is good, Concept Art House’s graphical storytelling is matter-of-fact and flat. It doesn’t often capture the tension that the script suggests.

Still, fans of military science fiction may find this to be a comic book to their liking.

B

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SHRAPNEL: HUBRIS #1 (1 of 3)
Creator MARK LONG & NICK SAGAN
Writer NICK SAGAN & CLINNETTE MINNIS
Artist CONCEPT ART HOUSE
Cover Artist STEPHAN MARTINIERE

Mark Long and Nick Sagan return to take a planetary revolution across the solar system in the sequel to Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising.

The last free colony in the Solar System has yet to fall, but how long can it withstand the siege? Under constant barrage from orbit and kept from replenishing much-needed supplies by a planetary blockade, the colonists of Venus find themselves in desperate circumstances. But unwilling to let their stand be in vain, the surprise hero of the war—notorious ex-marine Vijaya “Sam” Narayan—must reverse their fortunes before time runs out once and for all.

(Mature Readers) Preview the first 14 pages of our upcoming science fiction title Shrapnel: Hubris #1, hitting comic stores nationwide June 9, 2010.

Find more photos like this in Radical Publishing's community

I suppose the main goal of the cover is not only to sell the book, but also to stick to the overall theme and subject of the novel. Artistically speaking, I would say the best is to often, not to say always, have either a strong contrast, or a strong color duality with saturated tones. I would even say it is wise to raise saturations above the "reality" norm in order to have it pop out even more to the eyes of the viewer.

Well I am always blown away by all the new pieces by my friend Stephan Martiniere. Shrapnel 3, or Terra Insegura, are absolutely awesome. Perfect sense of composition, perfect balance...

Click here to read the full article from SFSignal.com.

Get more Shrapnel info on the upcoming "Hubris" series.

Bob Bretall and John Mayo talk with various creators about items in the March 2010 Previews catalog including Nick Sagan regarding the upcoming Shrapnel Hubris.

Nick is not only the co-creator for Shrapnel Hubris, but is also co-writing it too. Click on the image below to listen to the full podcast interview.