By Sam King

I have always been fascinated by stories of exploration and lost cities, like El Dorado and Atlantis. This comic so far seems to be focusing on Atlantis. To start, there is a lot of human drama going on, and we get a little taste of some mystery elements that will progress as the series gets rolling. While it is not the greatest comic I have read this year, this one has a lot of potential to become a good time, so long as the characters do not get tiresome.

The Lost City Explorers is a pretty standard starting issue. It introduces characters, a general conflict, and leaves things open for the future. It is also rather strong in how quickly it sets up some very big conflicts and information. First, we see a group of adults in a cavelike underground setting. Generally, they seem to be scientists, and one man gets sucked into a pool that looks like water but might be a portal of some kind. Then we meet a teenage girl and another girl who appears to be her best friend. The main girl is named Helen Coates, although they go by Hel. When she goes home her brother, Homer, is with police and they find out about a work accident. There is a funeral, because the man who disappeared at the beginning, was Hel’s father, Dan Coates. He was a professor who was really into myths about the lost city of Atlantis and worked in his home basement, doing research with his computer. At the funeral, we meet June, who is Homer’s girlfriend of six months.  She and Hel do not appear to get along, and June generally seems very inconsiderate at the funeral. At the funeral, a man comes up and offers Hel and Homer money in exchange for no questions or information provided regarding the accident. Later a woman we met in the opening scene finds Hel and tries to explain that her father may still be alive, but she needs Dan’s computer. Hel goes to find it (in the basement), but at home she finds Homer, and they both are shocked because their home has been ransacked and the computer was stolen.

A lot happens in this issue in terms of conflict. Hel has a lot of angst and confusion about what she wants to do with herself after high school finishes. She also seems to have some tension in her relationship with her father based on her opinions of college. She has friction with June too. I think that if any characters are going to get on my nerves, it will be a toss-up between Hel, Homer, and June. Hel appears to be the main character so as long as she isn’t overly angsty things should be okay. I haven’t seen quite enough of Homer to decide on where he stands in the cast, but June is definitely going to be a pill if this issue is anything to go on. I don’t understand her character, and she isn’t too defined at this point as anything but a nuisance who happens to be dating an important character in the lead family. I hope she either redeems herself or that she gets dropped in a break up very, very soon.

The story has a lot of mystery, but it is all very basic in what it is doing. This story is not a completely new one, but hopefully, some elements and approaches to how it is told will be. I like the story pieces that have been presented so far, and I’m hoping for good things as the puzzle gets put together.

The art is pretty clean. Homer’s face looked a bit odd at times, but overall the art is good, albeit nothing spectacular. Other background faces also look pretty goofy on occasion, and not in a good way. The main characters look perfectly fine overall. I thought the art was fitting and hopefully, it will get better once we actually start seeing more of the lost cities that the series title is hinting at. This is the one place that could make things really good or ruin them. Lost cities have a lot of legends and visual potential, so seeing how the artist handles them will be a big factor in my overall opinion of the series. Also, that title is plural, so I am hoping that there will be more than just Atlantis in the line-up. I’m a fan of Atlantis, but if you’re going to say “Cities” instead of just city, you need to deliver.

This first issue piqued my interest enough for me to want to see what happens in the next, but I get the feeling that the characters are what will make or break the next issues. The story concept itself is solid enough to be entertaining for a while. If the characters don’t get overdone or are at least balanced enough in how their “negative” traits are presented, then this could be a very good time in the long run. I need another issue to really form a solid opinion of this story because potential will only get a comic so far if it is not realized.

Score: 3/5

The Lost City Explorers #1
AfterShock Comics