By Dustin Cabeal

Preview issues and zero issues always present an interesting challenge when reviewing. They’re essentially an issue made to entice a new reader into picking up the full issue. In a way, the review then is more about how successful the issue is at that than it is about the quality of the stories and art.

Though, to bring up the art for Ominous Press is to point out just how damn good it is. Some will instantly scream the 90s, but there is a very modern flair to the designs and art. Goddamn, that art is beautiful. It’s not just Bart Sears’ art either, though he does have an immaculate style. Tom Raney and Andy Smith are in the same league as Sears, and each of the three stories ends up looking like a house style. Who misses the house style? I mean, it’s great to break it every once in a while, but damn I miss all of a publisher’s book kinda looking the same. All three artists do a fantastic job and make this preview issue jaw dropping good.

As for the three stories, there’s one written by Sears, called Giantkillers, that I found myself the most interested in reading. It looks like high-octane fantasy adventure with the fate of the world at hand, which can be great or redundant. We’ll see, but based on the preview, it looks good.

The next story is Prometheus, and there’s a nice little twist in the preview that I won’t spoil, but I will say that the general idea is that the Greek gods are real. This is another one that could go either way as it depends on what Ron Marz does with the characters.

The last story, also written by Marz, is called Demi-God and hey, remember, the Greek gods are alive, so there’s a bit of a theme. A man has inherited powers and has called himself Hercules. It’s based in the modern world so there are selfies and social media and our hero is selling his brand rather than heroics, but it was the second most interesting of the three. Marz states that he’s trying something different with his writing and I’m curious to see how it goes.

For a preview issue, it does its job. It not only made me curious about all three stories, but it also did a great job of telling a quick story in each world. Each part could easily be the opening to the regular issue or just exist in this preview, if you have a chance to snag this preview its worth checking out in advance of their releases coming up. You can read more about the releases and Ominous Press new print partner IDW, here.

You can also find Sears "Drawing Power Heroes: Brutes and Babes" on Kickstarter!

Score: 4/5

Ominous Press – World Premiere #1
Writers: Bart Sears, Ron Marz
Artists: Bart Sears, Tom Raney, Andy Smith
Publisher: Ominous Press