Bloom #1 Lays Cosmic Cornerstone for Entire Hero Tomorrow Universe

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Wed, 02/24/2021 - 17:58

The universe of Hero Tomorrow comics is a small but very cohesive, tightly-knit one. The hero -- Apama -- is an everyman imbued with the animal powers of a creature from myth, and since his emergence the supervillains have sprung up to oppose him -- some odd, all bizarre.

But there is one who is deeply connected to Apama's origins, yet pre-dates his arrival by nearly forty years. Regina, who first appeared in Apama, The Undiscovered Animal #5, gets her origin story with Bloom #1, coming soon to comic shops and currently funding through Kickstarter.

Set in 1969, Bloom begins with Ramsey, an auto mechanic and would-be comic book artist obsessed with the idea of his comic book villain and the arcane glyphs that came to him in a dream state while tripping in the forest -- at a location that will be quite familiar to fans already following the Apama comic.

Intent on getting the right view of the glyphs as body tattoos on his villain, Ramsey buys a mannekin and paints it up. But it's still not right, lacking a certain anima to evoke the character. But when he joins his fiancee and friends for a street festival, Ramsey discovers Regina, a belly dancer with an untamed spirit to her, a wild freedom that speaks to him. He approaches her to model a photo study for his character, to include the body painting, and she agrees.

What follows is a walk in the woods like no other, as we learn the origin of the glyphs, get an alternate view of the battle that began the world, and the subtle transformation of Regina from woman to something more than human. It's a sexy, groovetastic tale, fraught with the tension of a slow-burn horror that completely draws the reader into its world to the point that nothing will pull them out until the last page. Written by Ted Sikora and drawn by Butch Mapa, Bloom is the kind of bronze-age comic that will appeal to fans of Bernie Wrightson and Frank Frazetta. The Kickstarter campaign also includes cover variants from Bong Dazo, Benito Gallego, and Donny Hadiwidjaja, as well as a photo cover featuring cosplay model and Heroineburgh actress Alicia Lynn.

Highly recommended.