By Dustin Cabeal
Atlantis: The Last Survivor is proof that great art can elevate the most average of stories. I know that’s a bit of a slam, but there are a lot of problems with Atlantis’ story. The first being that there’s only a vague impression of what the story is about after reading it. It doesn’t even reveal much of the story until the final pages in which it rushes to a cliffhanger. Until then it spent a lot of time being vague, rushing to through character development and trying to be clever.
The unfortunate thing is that none of it is unique. Which is fine. Don’t get me wrong; I understand that there’s nothing new under the son and every story that can be told has been, it’s just new twists that make them interesting. That’s the biggest problem with Atlantis: TLS, there’s no new twists. Tell me if you’ve heard this one, ruthless ruler that kills all that oppose him. Chosen one, recently orphaned and the beautiful love interest that’s alien to his world. It sounds like a lot of things and the sum of those parts executed the way they are in this issue make for an average comic.
The art is the saving grace because it’s very professional. Just looking at it, you get the sense that it’s inspired by another “Atlantis-esque” story, Fathom. Which is a compliment. Hell, in recent years Fathom hasn’t looked this good. The art elevates the story for sure. It doesn’t save it, but it made damn sure that I finished the story. My only gripe was that the last few pages looked rushed, but then the story read like it was rushed too.
There’s not much else I can say about Atlantis: The Last Survivor. The title tells us more about the plot than the issue does, it has great art, but at the end of the day, it’s pretty average. Average isn’t bad, but it's far from inspiring. Maybe this is that genre that you can’t help but check out, and if so that’s cool, it’s worth a read at least, and maybe the team will improve with the next issue.
Score: 3/5
Atlantis: The Last Survivor #1
Writer: Arin Leviti
Artist: Giuseppe Cafaro
Colorist: Federico Blee
Self-Published
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