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The Infinium #1
Publisher: Tango Unlimited
Writer: Rich Perez
Artist: Ron ONG
Cover: Ron ONG

“The Infinium #1“ If there’s one rule to comic books, it’s that there’s no such thing as an ordinary life. Ever. And if you do happen to have an ordinary life, prepare to be bitten by a radioactive spider, have every atom in your body be deconstructed in a laboratory accident (note: never be a scientist), or in the case of The Infinium, get transported to another world.

The Infinium not only does the ordinary-life-suddenly-changed cliché, it points it out and arguably satires it. The Infinium is not a serious comic, but rather more of an offbeat comedy.

The styling of it, from Ron ONG’s drawing and computer coloring to Rich Perez’s old school styled writing, is very much an indie comic book. And by indie comic book, I don’t mean Dark Horse or Boom! indie. I mean indie indie. Maybe not strange, artsy, wtf alternative indie. There’s plenty of themes and styling the Marvel and DC fan can enjoy. But it definitely has some flairs of that alternative, underground, screw you we’re outside the system kind of indie. The kind of indie you can find at conventions that solely deal with comics.

Because of its indie-ness, some of you will dig the comic and others of you will be put off with it still. As I said before, this isn’t the kind of independent you’ll find from Top Cow or Image Studios. It isn’t polished, the artist doesn’t use expensive brushes or programming, and it doesn’t have the Marvel/DC etiquette or conformity. It comes off as crude, but like many indie comics, it also has some charm with that. But then again, I’m pretty open minded and easy going when it comes to tastes.

If you read the comic strips as much as the comic books, pick up all the zines at your record shop, and look at creator web comics while wearing your leather jacket with the Dead Kennedys patch on the back, then you might want to check this out. But if you’re looking for a new flagship title to be a fanboy/girl of, pretty drawings of action scenes or models to drool over, or are looking for a Grant Morrison (well, it is a bit Morrisonesque), Alan Moore, or Neil Gaiman story to grip you, then I can say that this is probably not for you.

I’m actually fine with The Infinium for the most part. As I said before, I dig its indie-ness. However, it does break one big rule. The number one rule everyone is taught at the beginning of Creative Writing class.

Show, don’t tell.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of times it’s good to tell the plot, character, background, etc. The golden and silver age did this all the time and had some charm to it as The Infinium does at times. And besides, comics have a certain number of pages, so they can’t show everything. However, this one tells a lot. I guess that’s not the worst thing that can happen, but still, why can’t I see what they’re telling? For example, there’s one part in which Brian Villa’s lawnmower stops working and he says, “Hey, what gives? This lawnmower’s tank is full… …And why do I feel so cold?” Couldn’t they show the lawnmower not working (possibly a sound effect of it puttering to death) and the sky getting colder, for a bigger impact?

And why can’t I see why his life is completely ordinary rather than read a few pages? Even if it’s a panel or two, it would be worth seeing things like getting to know more about his wife and their relationship. And why can’t they show a little bit of what’s told on a page of text explaining his background? I know that might lengthen the series an issue or two, but if it means the characters are more developed, plot is shown, and it brings me further into the story, than I’ll be more than happy to shell out extra cash for the series.

Like I said before, though, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s just very different in style. Think of it as if you took the indie comics and silver age comics and put them in a blender. So if that’s what you want, go for it. And if not, then it’s your call.

If you would like to purchase this comic, you can download it at http://www.tangounlimitedllc.com/infinium/download.html and purchase the physical copy of the comic at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=VSCHLW3HJNDHL .

Andrew Hudson
ahudson@comicattack.net
@Hudsonian