Fathom #9 Review

Michael Turner’s latest FATHOM volume reaches its thrilling conclusion…

With the sinister inhabitants of the Red Ocean dispatched thanks to her heroic efforts, Aspen Matthews believes that her problems may finally be over. However, upon returning her companions Colin and Judith home safely above the surface, a far more threatening peril awaits them-the vile, parasitic ceratonotus steiningeri!

Brace yourself, because the world-changing epic finale of volume four will alter the future landscape of the FATHOM universe forever!

As the official synopsis states, this is that closing chapter of this current art in Fathom who's main character was used as the actual branding for the title of the comic company. Aspen uses her aquatic powers to end the threat of another girl named Judith, who also has been inhibited by a virus of sorts giving her similar powers of controlling and transforming water. The final battle is quite short lived and the story ends with Aspen gazing off into the sunset wondering where she'll pick up next.

It's always a tough task when a story comes up on it's final chapter, especially one that's been this long running. The writer has to bring a lot of weight to a close and often times it can leave a dissatisfying ending. I wouldn't say that David Wohl failed in creating a ending worth reading at all because this was a very well written book. The main problem here is that it feels more like an epilogue than a true climactic finale and this may have been purposely done so I'm not faulting him for that. He lets Aspen save the day and cut ties with a place she's been for a long time in search of a new beginning which leaves a perfect opening for the adventures ahead.

Alex Konat seems to be channeling all the right things that made Michael Turner such a popular artist before his untimely death. This is not a carbon copy of the amazing work associated with Turner in any way, but you get the feeling Konat wanted to flow along the same path that brought the story a huge following in the first place. Beth Sotelo shouldn't be over looked either because the colors are vibrant and bright and pop off the page in each panel. The clean lines and slender build of the women are eye catching and while it's not a style I've always been a fan of, I can definitely see why it became so popular and where the audience loves coming back to it.

This was a solid effort from a creative team that seemed to enjoy their run on the book a lot. The writing flowed well and the art never seemed to faulter at any point and looked great even in the quieter scenes.