Having backed this during its crowdfund I've been very pleased with the quality of both the PDF and physical copies - Autarch has again delivered a very high quality product. As you can see in the preview images the artwork is excellent and the writing is very good too, with the right mix of seriousness and humour (the nods to the odd meme or two are also spot-on, particularly the one with Dr Quantum). This issue is essentially the origin stories of three major characters in the official Ascendant universe (Manticore, American Eagle, and Stiletto), plus the first mission of the eponymous Star-Spangled Squadron. The characters all have their own "voice" and you get a feel for what each of them is like in just a few lines or panels. In terms of sexualised imagery and violence, the comic takes a mature approach to both: it does not shy away from showing you the bloody results of battle and the like - it shows things as they are, rather than shoving it in your face or drawing a polite veil over things the way comics aimed at a younger audience typically does.

In terms of criticism, I think Stronghold could've used a bit more exposure to get to know him better, and some effects like Stiletto's pheromones were hard to understand without prior knowledge that she has that particular power, but as criticisms go I think both are pretty mild, especially given that AFAIK this is the author's first foray into comic book writing (!). I'm hopeful that we'll learn more about Stronghold & the other members of the Squadron in future issues, and that this is just the start of a long and successful independent comic series.

Ok, so, the book is throughly enjoyable. It's something mainline super hero comics have forgotten how to be. Fun with out being condisending, obnoxious, or utterly incapable of allowing you to actually invest in it. And it understands the characters that were clearly inspirition sources, there archatypes and roles in a mythology, which is what super hero's ultimatly are after all, modern mythology, better than any book I've seen form Marvel or DC in about a decade and a half if not longer.

The art is solid, the pacing is fantastic, brisk but not so quick your missing anything you need.

I can not recommend it strongly enough! 5 out of 5!

As a lifelong fan of comic books I have always felt like I was born at the wrong time. Older fans in the hobby can talk about seeing the medium itself being born anew as superheroes started taking over from pulp action heroes. They can speak to the beloved icons like Superman, Batman, Spider-man, and The Incredible Hulk being created and refined over time. They can talk about the unabridged heroics of certain characters with fondness and the nuanced takes of being a hero that more relatable if flawed characters portrayed. Beyond all of that, it felt like I was talking to people who got to witness the start of something brilliant, when my own experience was the opposite.

I was born just as deconstruction fully sank into the medium. I became aware of these amazing heroes and their tales just as every author who thought they had some point to say about the pointless cruelty of the world sought to bastardize and tear down these icons of heroism. I road through that wave but even when authors tried to write heroes again, it was almost as though they forgot what made things heroic, what made people feel wonder at seeing Strength, Beauty, Wisdom, and Courage. Everything felt undercut by some needless cruelty, some needless statement that there is no perfect Good. In the pursuit of making everything relatable, it felt like authors forgot that some heroes needed to be unrelatable, unobtainable paragons to show us what we're even trying to be. I was born to a comics industry that felt like it had lost it's way and was dying before I even got to enjoy it.

Ascendant is one of the few comics that have shown me that the medium of the Superhero Comic book is still alive. That there are still brilliant authors and artists working to produce the kinds of stories that produce awe and wonder. If mainstream comics learned the wrong lessons from the deconstruction era, Alexander Macris clearly learned the right ones, and not only modernized takes on classic heroic archetypes, he crafted them in ways to not only incorporate the justified criticisms of the deconstruction movement, but to make sure that at the end there was a proper reconstruction of the things we loved about that era. This book gives me hope, that in thirty years I'll be able to speak as fondly about watching the birth of this era of the comics book industry, as older fans used to speak about it's mainstream contemporaries.

I want to start this review by saying I’m not generally a reader of comics or graphic novels. I helped in the crowdfunding of this project because of the Ascendant RPG that came out first.

I found the “Star Spangled Squadron” to be thoroughly enjoyable. It is interesting that this medium can’t cover as much ground as the traditional novel where I have greater experience. There is only room for a handful of scenes which perhaps require a simpler plot. I will say, though, that the plot was solid and well sculpted. Nothing felt contrived or cheesy and every action bristled with consequence. Because of the limitations of space, each word must strike home and in this story they do. Likewise, I am amazed by the level of character depth that Macris achieved.

I found with great surprise that I enjoyed every member of the squadron. I missed that level of depth in the villains, but I imagine that is the price of being forced to such brevity. Hopefully as more issues follow, we’ll learn about them, too. But back to the heroes... while there is a natural draw to American Eagle I found that Warp was actually my favorite. He had a sharp wit and easy personality that cracked me up. American Eagle was the worthy hero I expected and hoped for. These days there seems to be little interest in solid family men with good morals so this was refreshing to see. He isn’t perfect, but you sense each failure only drives him to try harder. For the guys, Stronghold was fun but he was the least developed off the group. I’m looking forward to learning more about him in the future.

From watching interviews on Youtube, I had a conception of where the story was going with Stiletto and it delivered. While I would be categorized as someone who was less comfortable with her style of dress, I found her character to be very engaging. The two things that I thought were particularly cool were her healthy (as opposed to unhealthy) skepticism and, even more, the fact that she really is a heroine. This is hidden beneath her hardened exterior, but I always had the sense that she truly was trying to protect those around her even when she pretended indifference. The true power of this story is in the poignant dichotomy between her and American Eagle. I’d like to delve into this more but it would give too much away.

I was stunned that I liked Aurora, but I really did. She plays the bimbo, but that’s all a front for a very clever mind that made for a great character. I was also surprised to find that I liked Dr. Quantum. Most authors write brainy characters to be obnoxious. They’re often hollow calculators with no soul underneath. Not so, Dr. Quantum. Her personality burst out of the pages. She also had my favorite sound effect. Quaaaaaaaaaaaum!

This review focuses on character, but the plot as I mentioned was also very solid. The themes were poignant as well, though I really can’t discuss them without giving story away. A worthy read.