The major comic companies get enough reviews and press, it’s time for the creator-owned and indie series to get some love and judgment. Indie review takes up-and-coming indie and creator-owned series and puts them through the review process so you can confidently support the best of the small press and passion driven projects in the comic industry.

 

The Info Bit

Title: Executive Assistant Assassins #4

Genre/s: Action/Adventure

Writer: Vince Hernandez (Fathom: Kiani, Dellec)

Penciler: Lori “Cross” Hanson (Fathom: Kiani, Executive Assistant: Violet)

Inker: Jonathan Bolerjack (Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, Mindfield)

Colorist: John Starr (Fathom: Kiani, Heroes)

Publisher: Aspen MLT

Number of Issues: 4 (on-going)

Page Count: 20

Price: $3.99

 

The Review Bit

Executive Assistant Assassins #4 begins a new story arc in the on-going Aspen comic series filled with violence and sexy female killers. This new arc comes after a somewhat abrupt end to the opening story, which is set to continue in issue #6. But fans shouldn’t be worried about the sudden change, because it’s all for the best with a brand new executive assistant that has a bit of a pirate theme. Aspen starts the pirate nods from the very cover of this new issue, featuring a sexy variant by Siya Oum, and even rolls it into their usual ribbing of AspenStore.com head, Chris Rupp, with his title being changed to Red Beard in the comic’s credits.

This new arc begins the series’ two-part Lost at Sea storyline, featuring Executive Assistant Sophora. Sophora is a member of the pirate vessel, the Ollie Belle, and sadly is not well loved by all of its crew she works alongside, despite her curvy physique. Owned by the pirate captain, Tikote, Sophora finds herself in love with a crewmate on the Ollie Belle, named Landon. Instantly this relationship harkens us back to the very first volume of Executive Assistant Iris, where our E.A. protagonist is in love with someone and her master does not approve. I’d hate to say this series is getting predictable in only its second arc, but when combined with the several other Executive Assistant mini-series there is certainly a trend of assassins turning on their masters due to their masters just generally being unreasonable pricks. But there is certainly a lot more to this new storyline that keeps Lost at Sea very interesting. Tikote is not your usual rich scumbag executive you find as the master of an E.A. throughout previous E.A. stories. He really just is a modern day pirate, and a seemingly honorable one. Furthermore, this change from cityscapes to a more oceanic setting is quite nice, especially as the comic’s world just doesn’t feature enough tales involving piracy these days. Though it is worth noting a fun similarity in this watery adventure to that of Aspen’s other title, Fathom, which features another sexy brunette in the ocean. Of course Sophora is far more violent than Aspen Matthews of Fathom, as we see right from the comic’s opening torture scene. Throughout the issue, we see just how much of a badass Sophora can be, proving herself a strong and loyal executive assistant. But it is when her lover, Landon, begins talking about a free life for the two of them, away from Tikote, that the story starts heading into familiar Executive Assistant territory.

Vince Hernandez does a nice job with the story of this issue, keeping a fun narrative we often associate with pirates of the age of sails while placing the events in a more modern style of naval piracy. His dialogue is enjoyable, with subtle hints of foreshadowing early on amongst the crew of the Ollie Belle. Josh Reed’s lettering enhances this further with his beautiful caption boxes. But perhaps the best part of Hernandez’s script is the room he gives for artist Lori Hanson to show off the sexy Sophora.

Hanson and Bolerjack truly steal the show in this issue of Executive Assistant Assassins, with plenty of beautiful pin-up-esque panels featuring the shapely Sophora. Thanks to the tropical oceanic setting, we also get to see Sophora in some rather sexy and skimpy outfits throughout most of the book. In fact, the only time Hanson isn’t showing off our assassin protagonist’s sensuous form in skimpier numbers is when she has her outright naked, something that does unfold (tastefully) over a couple pages. But for those who are more of a fan of the male form, Hanson and Bolerjack give a fair amount of fan service on that end too, through Landon and the tattooed Tikote. All this sexy art is held together by John Starr’s very warm colors that he provides throughout the issue, making another comic quite worthy of Aspen’s high reputation in sequential art.

The Rating Bit

Executive Assistant Assassins #4 is a pleasant change of settings for the femme fatale book, giving us a quick and light story in-between arcs that are dealing with a much larger tale. It is a fun and simple adventure with some great artwork that really allows for some nice comic escapism. Therefore, Executive Assistant Assassins #4 is deserving of a good ol’ 7 out of 10 for its laid back and enjoyable story, that doesn’t require a universe of knowledge to follow, along with its rather attractive art. But for those who are looking for a return to the bigger picture in the Executive Assistant world, Executive Assistant Iris volume 2’s TPB also hits stores on the same day as Assassins #4, next Wednesday, October 10th.