Project Patron #1 Review

“Hold on, Folks...and don’t mind the flames.”--Patron

Steve Orlando: Writer

Patrick Piazzalunga: Artist

Carlos Lopez: Colorist

Thomas Mauer: Letterer

AfterShock: Publisher

This new superhero comic written by Steve Orlando and art by Patrick Piazzalunga and the rest of the team really meets Afterschock’s motto. Project Patron #1 shatters expectations. 

For anyone that is familiar with the death of a certain superhero from another planet that wears red underwear..this story picks up at the death of that character and tells the story “what if, that character died and the world’s government brought that character back to life...but with a twist. With the other blue boy scout character I’ve mentioned, he came back to life after a little while. But what if he didn’t come back to life but instead the world’s government decided to create a robot that would do the same thing? What would happen? That is the story that Orlando,  Piazzalunga are telling...and I’m totally here for it. 

The story by Orlando is a lot of fun. You can tell he is familiar with Superman and wants to tell his own story but, for obvious reasons, this can’t be Superman. So instead he created his own character and is telling this story, set 30 years after the fact… and surprise...that Death of Superman story is nearly 30 years old. The original part of this story that I absolutely love is that the U.N. created Project Patron and this is the story of how that project is unfolding. The first issue sets up the story and the ending is an excellent cliffhanger and it is leaving me wanting so much more. 

The art by Piazzalunga is wonderful in this book. Those pencils are so sharp and the art gives a wink and a nod to Superman but it is totally it’s own thing. You get that square jaw of the Patron but you can certainly tell that this is a totally different character. So, hence a wink and a nod. Piazzalunga also goes through great pains to make each character in this book unique. He gets body types, facial expressions, and even hairstyle down perfectly for these characters. 

Lopez collaborates very effectively with Piazzalunga when it comes to the colors. Everything in this world of Patron is not bright and sunny but you can feel there is hope in the colors in the action scenes and where the story of Patron takes place. You juxtapose that with the cooler colors through the rest of the book and it makes for a feast for the eyes. 

I am completely blown away by this book. At first, I was just thinking, okay this is just another Superman rip off and I’ve seen hundreds of those...but then...all of a sudden...it wasn’t. Project Patron is it’s own new, totally unique, take on a superhero story. I for one was very pleased with this book and can’t wait to read the second issue.