Alterna Comics are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, with fantastic digital first comics. The latest to join the likes of CHARGE and Trespasser, is The Creators by Michael S. Bracco, which sees a young girl with extraordinary powers go on the run from a shady government agency.

Publisher: Alterna Comics
Writer: Michael S. Bracco
Artist: Michael S. Bracco
Price: £1.99/$2.99

Our rating: [star rating=”4″]

The Creators is a story which follows Maya, a normal girl from a normal family going to a normal school who just so happens to have a not so normal power. Maya is a Creator, one of a new breed of people who have the ability to create physical manifestations of anything she draws. However, the world as it is currently cannot, or will not, accept creators due to the damage their creations cause, meaning Maya and her family have a choice; register her with the government’s new task force, the B.C.E, and send her to a special school or keep quiet, risking imprisonment, and go on the run. When tragedy strikes, however, Maya’s decision may soon be taken away from her.

With this title, writer and artist Michael S. Bracco has created a quite moody but, ultimately, very enjoyable action/adventure story which is very intriguing as its idea of people’s imaginations coming to life feels quite unique. The whole idea feels like an allegory for the X-Men in that a unique group of people being feared and persecuted by the wider world. However, this is not a rehash or carbon copy as this feels more of a personal story following Maya, while others like her are more in the background, used to demonstrate the uniqueness of the tale. This is more apparent in the character detail as, besides Maya, there is no real depth in the supporting players, save for Morgan Etain who comes across as a cross between Professor X and Bolivar Trask, with little information given as to whether she’s hero or villain, making her an interesting character. The story, while slow paced as it establishes this new world, works nicely throughout and offers enough cliffhanger in the ending to make readers want to come back.

But, like the writing, the artistic style Bracco employs is quite unusual, with pencils coming off as something in between the styles used on the Boys and the Bunker, but seems to match up to the story’s tone quite well. The colours, however, are the stand out as, although it is entirely monochrome with more focus on the black (similar to Andy Bloor’s Andythology), Bracco’s almost Schindler’s List-esque, sparing use of colour really helps the book pop, allowing readers to differentiate between the real and imagined, while also displaying a Creator’s power to eerie effect, such as during Maya’s introduction. This depiction of power, along with character designs, such as the mysterious agents along with the fantastical Battle Tusk, is really the strength of the book as it is visually stunning.

After 10 years of making comics, Alterna sure know how to make a hit, and this theory is no better proven than in The Creators. With an engrossing story and such incredibly striking art, Michael S. Bracco’s new title is a sure fire hit and is a worthy read and will really fire up the imagination, although this may not be a good thing in the case of this story.