An oversized edition collecting the first three issues of a Power Rangers send-up with hints of Philip K. Dick and Half-Life 2 thrown in, “Stronghold: The Chains” #1 is an unpolished yet interesting book from the indie side of the industry.
Written by Brian Visaggio
Illustrated by Kevin RobertsThe stunning beginning of Stronghold.
A small resistance cell on the conquered Earth has an unexpected encounter with a force that could give them the power to finally win.
If there’s one thing a creator can do to grab my attention, it’s make their comic an homage of sorts to Animorphs. “Stronghold: The Chains” didn’t do that but it did lead me to realize that Animorphs was totally ripping on Power Rangers, the actual franchise Brian Visaggio and Kevin Roberts take influence from in their story about a world long conquered by aliens who only wish to be our benefactors. A small terrorist cell of humans wishes to kick the visitors from space off-world and eventually receive help through a mysterious alien from a species at war with the Ouranians, the aliens who took over after the massive war twenty years back.
That story’s initially grounded through the large cast of humans that populate an occupied New York city. It’s almost reminiscent of Philip K. Dick’s style of writing where around roughly a dozen characters are thrown together in a crazed world with some great narration to craft said world. Visaggio’s narration reaches almost Claremontian levels of prose, almost fighting the art for space on the page. That’s not to make Visaggio’s words sound unwelcome, they’re a welcome introduction to the world of “Stronghold” and hits the right note of foreboding and intriguing. Unfortunately, the early parts of the volume fall to the wayside as the major conflict regarding the Power Ranger suits the terrorist cell earns comes into the spotlight. It’s still interesting, but there’s a little bit of a connection lost as the struggle between humans and aliens gets complicated with a third alien party. There’s still the possibility of intrigue, especially from the third party, but it all seems too convenient. Though, in truth that could just be part of the story we’re building up to as well.
The writing’s not the only part of “Stronghold: The Chains” I’m split on. Kevin Johnson’s art is literally the most polarizing thing I’ve encountered here in my time at Multiversity Comics dot com.His covers are gorgeous to the point that I’m almost unsure if they’re even from the same artist who does “Stronghold’s” interiors. (I don’t think they’re by a separate cover artist as the credits don’t seem to say anything but if you know better, let me know in the comments.) Half the time, the art’s great: skylines of a city taken over by aliens with scenes of cool alien armors and soldiers questioning the ethics of their otherworldly commanders. The other half of the art is a hot mess. I don’t know if there were some rushes in the schedule, ghost artists, or a tragic accident involving the replacement of every program on Kevin Roberts’s computer with Microsoft Paint. It’s insane how sloppy the art is in places simply because it’s so good at other points. And though I can forgive a couple messy faces here and there, the entire shootout in the pages is nigh-indecipherable. If it weren’t for the dialogue I’d have no idea what happened, and not in a stylistic choice kind of way.
Okay, that may have sounded harsh, but let me just say that in all honesty I am 100% on “Stronghold’s” side. Though a lot of it’s unpolished (ESPECIALLY the choice in graphics) there’s a lot of heart in this book. The plot with the augmented rebels fighting against a relatively benign Combine is intriguing and when Roberts’s art is good, it’s pretty damn good. If anything, this is a book that just needs a lot more polish. Like… a lot of polish. But underneath the wild-eyed art, the word-art sound effects and the occasional overuse of narration, “Stronghold” is still an interesting title for any Indie comics fan that, despite its shortcomings, carried a lot of potential.
Final Verdict: 6.8 – “Stronghold: The Chains” #1 (which has THREE issues of content) is only 99 cents on Comixology so there’s honestly no reason not to check it out. This is a book that has the potential to really go places when given the right amount of time and care.
