Nobody left to trust.
Creative Staff:
Story: Stephanie Phillips
Art: Robert Carey
Colors: Rosh
Letterer: Troy Peteri
What They Say:
Gifted or perhaps cursed with powers that she can’t control, journalism student Miriam Roberts is on run from the FBI and Russian secret agents, fleeing a crime she didn’t commit and can’t explain. Forced to question even her own identity, is there anyone left for Miriam to trust?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Red Atlantis has taken some odd turns along the way in laying out its story but it’s been interesting watching the pieces fall into place and how dangerous it’s getting. Stephanie Phillips keeps things a bit smaller this time around overall as it’s mostly just focused on a couple of characters but it works well to pare things down a bit. I again really like Robert Carey’s approach to the artwork a lot with the designs and how it flows, but some of the scenes with Yuri and Sasha didn’t click well when they were fighting a bit as it just looked unsure. But beyond that, I really like the look of it overall and how well it fits with this story.
With Sasha and Miriam on the run still, they’ve ended up in the woods where Sasha’s longtime compatriot Yuri is currently residing. With the two having many years together serving in the field, and with Sasha having saved Yuri’s life a couple of times, he owes him and is paying him back here wel. There are a couple of manly men moments here but it plays out in a familiar way with how they get along and allow for him and Miriam to catch a rest. The problem, naturally, is that Yuri has already folded before they even got there and his guilt is now getting the better of him with it to the point where he’s willing to defend the cabin with them. It’s a quick heel turn kind of thing when you get down to it but you know how it’s going to end with him dead and the other two getting captured. It at least unfolds well and has some good moments to it.
We don’t get much further there, though both characters are placed on different paths with Miriam taken to her grandmother and listed as escaped while Sasha is just locked up. But it’s here that the other storyline crosses into it as Christine and Greg, completely off the case, have ended up here as well. She’s been practically abusing him in order to get information so she can keep on it. I like her persistence and also that Greg calls her out for not saying much about what happened with the bullets and powers. It’s a good bit in that she does admit to things in a kind of slim way and it keeps them both in the loop for a bit. Of course, having them involved in the clean-up side of the attack on the cabin when neither is officially supposed to be there puts them in a bad place before Sasha even gets involved with them.
In Summary:
Red Atlantis has an installment where it definitely feels like the back part of the second act of a film where the characters get some downtime, deal with a little betrayal, and are split apart so that we can go into some revelations and the final fight. I like the time between Yuri and Sasha as they hash out the past a bit, even if we knew that Yuri was likely compromised from the start, and I’m enjoying seeing Christine’s persistence pay off pretty well for her here while also kind of reconciling in a way with Greg over recent events. Phillips keeps things moving pretty smoothly here while Carey’s artwork continues to have the right kind of feel for a project like this.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: February 10th, 2021
MSRP: $4.99
