By Dustin Cabeal

What a time to be alive when the first thing I have to tell you is "full disclosure, I know this dude." That is what I have to do, though; I know the writer of Aztlan, Pablo Arriaga. He's written reviews, articles, and interviews for Comic Bastards and a great digital friend of mine. That is to say; we've never actually met in person.

He sent me Aztlan to check out, be it a review or a just an article. It's a short story, and so a longwinded review would be overkill from me and more than likely you'd call bullshit on anything I wrote (which would be false because I am a Bastards). But I read it, and fuck did I like it. I liked it a lot, and I never knew of its existence until Pablo sent it to me. The artwork by Ryan Guiterrez is gritty, detailed and the perfect fit for the story and tone. Adam Cutrone's colors match the artwork and elevate it to a professional level. The point is, this is what I look for in an indie comic book. So many people think that you can just publish whatever, but an indie work should be a professional work that was made without a publisher's help. That's not to say there's no room for learning or that people aren't setting out to do professional work, but this is what I look for in indie comics, and I get about seven new indie titles a week to read and review.

Now as for Arriaga's writing, it's every bit as good as his reviews were. He has a very relevant and social message that he's relaying through the backdrop of a seemingly failed space voyage. It rings loud and clear and hopefully will inspire and open the minds of the people that read it. And where can you read it? Well, you can grab a print copy at mrchoforo.bigcartel.com for $4.00 plus a buck for shipping (at least it was a dollar when I ordered my copy, don't quote me on that). It's short and sweet, but you'd be helping out the indie community and showing your love for comics. At the very least you'd be thanking Pablo for years of great reviews that lead to worthy comic purchases.