By Matt Vroom (@vroomatt)

THE ELEMENTAL BALANCE is a independent comic book series written by Zain Shenwari and art by Luke Horsman. It was published by inZane Comics, a company started by Zain 20 years ago (according to their website.)

I was given the opportunity to review the first issue of “The Elemental Balance.” My first impressions were that it was a fun spin on the elemental powers sub-genre of science fiction fantasy. This comic reminded me a lot of Marvel’s Legion. One individual has powers and spends a lot of time searching around the globe for answers and for others like her.

There’s a lot that this book has going for it. There are “elements” of human drama mixed in with the destructive powers of the natural world. The first half of this book introduces us to the rules of this world. Our planet, Earth, was created by a bunch of cosmic forces colliding with one another in a very chaotic way.

Out of the heat and insanity came large shards of ice that calmed the surface and brought “balance” to the world. It was interesting foreshadowing of what was to come later in this chapter. A woman, named Chloe, reveals that she has the ability to control water. After having a dream that turned out to be real, discovered a man with the ability to move the Earth. An ability in which he just discovers thanks to Chloe’s help.

I am making the assumption that the two of them, Chloe and Baraka from Kenya, will need to work together to bring balance to the elemental forces which I think will begin to wreck havoc on the world.

I haven’t read the follow up issues, but they are now available on IndieGoGo. However, after reading this issue I am definitely interested on what happens next.

A woman, named Chloe, reveals that she has the ability to control water. After having a dream that turned out to be real, discovered a man with the ability to move the Earth.

As far as the realm of indie comics goes, inZane and other small publishers are taking big leaps to make a name for themselves. They are actively recruiting the right kind of talent to tell their stories both emotionally and visually.

“Elemental Balance” is a visual pleasure. The art was perfect for this kind of story. I did feel like I was reading a Marvel comic. The colors didn’t distract from the art, and everything, even down to the lettering, only propelled the story forward.

There are a lot of questions that were garnered up in this issue, and I feel like that is always a good thing when starting out a series. It is good to lay out the ground work in the beginning to pay off in later issues.

The second of issue of this series has been promised to give the origin story of Chloe’s water-based elemental powers. It will be neat to see how and why everything has transpired so far.

Chloe’s story was one of self-discovery and exploration. Instead of accepting that her life is the way that it is, she goes on a journey to figure out why and what her greater purpose is. Her mission can be encouraging to readers to look for answers about their own lives to find “balance.”

Be prepared for some action, mystery, and a recap of high school geology in this book. I’d recommend this to fans of Marvel’s Runaways and X-Men. It might not have teen-aged characters in it, but the adventure still has that same level of energy.

Thank you Zain for reaching out to me for the opportunity to review this comic. Also, thank you, the reader, for taking the time to look at this review. If you are interested in more comic and pop culture reviews then make sure to follow Super Hero Speak on Twitter, and tune in every Wednesday for the Super Hero Speak podcast hosted by Dave, John, and JD.