FATHOM: KIANI (vol.3) #1 Review

By Harrison Rawdin on Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

Is this a property that really needs to resurface? Read on to find out.

The official description from Fathom:

Kiani has risen!

One of the most powerful figures in the Fathom universe returns for this epic third chapter! Following the tragic events of The Elite Saga and the shattering of her family ties, Kiani has risen above the surface and seemingly disappeared amongst the large expanse of the human population. However, with a power inside her that is capable of changing–or destroying–the world’s landscape, her presence can only remain hidden for so long!

I’ll be honest this character never really felt like someone who could handle a solo adventure, especially a monthly title to call their own. That said I can report that this third volume is off to a striking start as this competent creative team plays up racial angst and family issues to see their comic succeed.

Vince Hernandez pens the script and demonstrates his ability to take any character and make their story worthwhile. Last we saw Kiani, she was reeling from personal loss (see Fathom: The Elite Saga). But now above the water she’s trying to understand what do and that right there is what makes this endeavor feel genuine and compelling. My one complaint is that in just a few interactions with some decent people she alters her opinion of humans a tad bit too quickly.

The art Giuseppe Cafaro fits more often than it doesn’t. As a barrage of striking visualizations easily bring life to this world full of varied races and origins. I did find that the colors done by Wes Hartman enhanced the pencils to the level they needed to be, but there were still hiccups along the way. I just didn’t feel like Kiani got the attention she required as she suffered from some minor bouts of inconsistency, but for the most part these were few and far between.

Fathom: Kiani (vol.3) #1 offers a good deal of quality with a few narrative and illustrative stumbles. Despite that there’s a core element that allows this release to earn a recommendation from me.