Venus Rises is coming soon on Kickstarter, and I had a chance to look at what you can expect from this futuristic story.
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In Venus Rises: Parallels, siblings Demille and Aeriana Onaar find themselves ensnared in a high-stakes struggle between power and rebellion. As Venus harbors the oppressed working class and Mars stands as the seat of authority, the echoes of long-buried conflicts reverberate, and the spark of revolution ignites.
Aeriana, fueled by a burning desire for justice, enthusiastically aligns herself with the Venusian Resistance led by the enigmatic Kylara Marinn. However, Demille, haunted by the ghosts of their past, vehemently opposes her decision, straining the bonds of family loyalty. As the siblings navigate the treacherous divide between allegiance and dissent, Lieutenant Nathan Griggs, a soldier in the Mars Defense Directorate, relentlessly pursues them.Jason G. Birdsall: Creator/Writer
Bora Örçal: Interior Artist
Elif Kut: Color, Lettering, and Book Design
Leonardo Colapietro: Cover Artist
Jose Garcia: Variant Cover Artist
Gear up for an interplanetary thrill ride in Venus Rises: Parallels - a pulse-pounding graphic novel that catapults you into a future where Mars reigns and Venus rebels!
I often talk about world-building when discussing new comic series. There is much to take in in most cases, and the reader must learn about the new status quo. This is different to long-form comic series from the worlds of Marvel or DC Comics as there is a long list of continuity to get to grips with. New creators must cunningly develop an initial story with information on the world we are reading about. I’ve always enjoyed this, as you get something new.
In the case of Venus Rising, we get solar system building.
It’s incredible, and although it may feel overwhelming, you find yourself brought into it all, and the graphic novel gives you some excellent background knowledge and ongoing information.
This isn’t just about the world, but we also get some excellent fact files on the characters in the story. These are done in a way that gives you some rough details about their skills and motivations.
As we start, the story has an exciting prologue, which sets the tone in space and the risks involved in such endeavours. We know why people will go to these lengths, and in opposition to that, some want to keep that away.
Moving swiftly on, we find the beginning of Venus rising. This works well as an introduction to the rebellion and those involved in it. There is also a good look at the opposition - their power and the methods involved. This power is shown throughout the comic, especially in the methods and attitude at the end of the story.
There is a clever convergence of storylines here, with two groups teaming together. The tension there is well done, and they all have different needs.
From this, the story has an excellent combination of action and character moments, with the action taking place in space and on the ground.
I really enjoy the tone of the artwork, with the washed-out feeling of the linework and the tones of the shadows and light. Adding splashes of colour is excellent and draws the eye around the story. There are some clever tight scenes and some of the bigger (mainly in space) moments.
I would say that this is an excellent story and one for those who like the storytelling you would find in Dune.
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