Another title is set to debut from this publisher, but is it worth a look?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Aspen:

The sci-fi thriller OVERTAKEN takes center stage as Aspen’s 10 year anniversary celebration marches on!

Some questions, you may not want to know the answers to. Journalist Will Harden is well equipped for most situations, but nothing can prepare him for what¹s about to come. Relocating from the big city to a small mountain town with his wife, everything is turned upside-down the moment she goes missing. Are the rumors of alien abductions true or did something far worse happen to his wife? No matter the cause, Harden will not stop until he uncovers the truth, or dies trying.

When tackling an overpopulated genre with your own spin there are certainly some pitfalls to be had.  Truth is there are really no completely original thoughts when something’s been floating around long enough, all that’s left is the attempt to deliver a bold combination and the creative team does just that.

Frank Mastromauro pens the script and this piece of fiction is both familiar and different.  The author delves out a fairly straightforward journey that sees a happy couple relocated to a small town, what happens when they get there will no doubt change their lives from this point on.  There are some stiff bits of dialogue but for the most part I was in awe with how quickly I started to care for these characters and much of that’s due to the scribe behind them.

The art by Marco Lorenzana is simplistic in form but strict within the confines of his execution.  The visual result is a top-notch journey across the stars and into a rural town, as the talent refuses to miss a beat in this expansive yarn.  In short: the illustrations brought life to this piece in ways that matched or exceeded the quality of the narrative.

Overtaken #1 is without a doubt a starting point, and even though it’s not quite what it sets out to be it still earns a recommendation from me.

4/5