Soulfire Sourcebook #1 Review

Soulfire Sourcebook #1
Written by Hannibal Tabu
Art by various
Colored by various
Published by Aspen Comics

Shortly after I started reading comics, Marvel published the first issue of the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. I remember buying that first issue, which covered the letter “A,” and reading it over and over again, mesmerized by the sheer amount of information it contained. I read all about Angar the Screamer, A.I.M. and Angel, and I tried to memorize the entire Avengers roster to that point.

The end result is that to this day, I still really enjoy any kind of handbook or who’s who for comic book universes. Being able to read all that information between two covers is just so appealing to me, I can’t say no when I see one on the racks at the comic shop.

The latest to find its way home with me is the first-ever Soulfire Sourcebook from Aspen Comics. Created by the late, great Michael Turner, Soulfire is the story of a future where magic and technology battle to see which will rule the Earth, and the connection between the two. The series has been published as a number of miniseries over the years and was the first title published by Aspen when it was founded in 2003.

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Over the course of its 27 pages, the Soulfire Sourcebook gives the reader everything they would ever need to know about the universe created by Turner and the folks at Aspen. Somehow, writer Hannibal Tabu manages to take 10 years worth of stories and characters and organize them into a coherent and easy to read guidebook for the series. You get all the important information and stats you would expect from a sourcebook for each character (height, weight, powers, etc.) as well as their backstory. Each character’s story is given more than enough room to breathe, most spread over two pages. In addition, you get the lowdown on the world they live in, how magic works and the the important players in both.

While all of that is great and makes for an enjoyable and very readable book, the biggest draw of the Soulfire Sourcebook is still the artwork of Michael Turner. Almost every page features some of his incredible, detailed artwork, still as breathtaking as ever. All these years after his untimely death, it’s easy to take for granted and forget just how talented Turner was. His character designs still leap off the page and demand to be noticed to this day. While seeing his work on the page again is always a welcome sight, you can’t help but feel a bit sad thinking what Turner might have been capable of if he had lived.

The Bottom Line: If you are like me and love books like this, the Soulfire Sourcebook should be at the top of your read pile this week, no question. It’s a very well done handbook to a title that never got the attention it really deserved, and should be experienced and enjoyed by more people.

For people who are already fans of the series, buy an extra copy and give it to a friend. I can’t think of a better introduction to a series that still has Michael Turner’s spirit and energy on every page.

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