Writer: Gabriel Smith

Illustrator: Raymond Sanders

Colorist: Leonardo Giron

Letterer: Jessica Jimerson

Publisher: Fantasy Art Comics

Rating: PG

With constant reboots for little more than temporary sales boosts becoming a familiar refrain in the world of mainstream superhero comics, Fierce #1 represents something of an anomaly- a reboot fueled by a legitimate desire of the creator of the concept to improve upon his original vision of the character. The result is a fun superhero comic that succeeds largely because it doesn’t aim to be anything other than just that- a fun superhero comic.

While creator/ artist Raymond Sanders was essentially a one-man show on the original Fierce series, this time around he has enlisted a talented team of  helpers to create the best product possible, and it definitely does show in the final product. Allowed to focus solely on the art, Sanders’ work here is very nice and clean. As a longtime observer of Sanders career I can say the growth and development from his original Fierce publications is quite impressive.

Writer Gabriel Smith provides an endearing script that ably weaves between the two story strands of an aging hero and a young high school basketball star- our eventual hero Aaron Adams- which intersect in a big way at the end of this issue. The parts with the aging hero in particular stand out, as there is some nice dialogue between the hero and an off-screen helper that helps set the stage for much to come.

The high school scenes are competent enough, while the characters that come to interact with Aaron all seem to be fairly standard issue teen/high school stock characters (the loyal friends, the it girl, the jock jerk, etc…) with a fair bit of depth given to them. The lettering also is adequate for the story being told, though it must be pointed out there are a few poorly placed balloons that affect the flow of reading in spots. The colors are very vivid and work well with Sanders quasi-cartoony art.

All in all, Fierce #1 is a fun superhero book that does a good job of laying the groundwork for exciting adventures to come. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

For more information on Fierce #1 and Fantasy Art Comics head to http://fantasyartcomics.blogspot.com/, https://www.instagram.com/fantasyartstudios/, and https://www.facebook.com/fantasyartcomics.

William Satterwhite is the creator of the superhero webcomic Stealth and a freelance designer, internet consultant and illustrator living in Douglasville, Ga. His professional website can be found at www.williamsatterwhite.info.