Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising #1 is the first of a six-issue mini-series and the first installment of what will eventually be an 18-part epic in the form of three six-issue runs. It represents Radical Publishing’s biggest initial commitment to a project today. Why? Because it is, in a word, epic.

The story, which spans worlds and space, is about an interplanetary civil war in which Mars is the last free colonized nation-state. The main character is a female former war hero who has gone into seclusion, but she is forced to take up the struggle against her former allies to prevent a Martian genocide.

The story draws in such wide ranging influences as the Greek classics, contemporary events, and modern science fiction, and spins them into a complex, compelling reality that is definitely more than worth the price of admission for this introductory issue. This first 48-pager carries a $1.99 cover price and features four variant covers.

The bold nature of the project springs from its creators, who are Mark Long, president of Zombie Studios, and Nick Sagan, science fiction novelist and son of Carl Sagan. The comic’s writer M. Zachary Sherman, is a former marine with an eye for action and detail. Famed visual futurist Syd Mead did some of the early original designs for it. Its artist Kai (Bagus Hutomo) is one of the founders of Imaginary Friends Studios. Together they’ve come up with something very intriguing.

Scoop previewed this series in November and we’ve been ready for it since the first time we saw it.