SOURCEBOOK Fathom Created By Michael Turner Written By: HANNIBAL TABU Sample file A B Direct Edition AspenStore.com by -Michael Turner Boxing Day Exclusive & Peter Steigerwald Limited Edition of 200 by -Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald Editors: Andrea Shea, Vince Herenandez Design and Production: Mark Roslan The Black Co-Created by: Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald FOR ASPEN: Founder: MICHAEL TURNER Co-Owner: PETER STEIGERWALD Co-Owner/President: FRANK MASTROMAURO Vice President/Editor in Chief: VINCE HERNANDEZ Vice President/Design & Production: MARK R OSLAN Editorial Assistant: JOSH REED, ANDREA SHEA Production Assistant: CHAZ RIGGS Office Manager: MEGAN MADRIGAL AspenStore.com: CHRIS RUPP MICHAEL TURNER’S FATHOM™ SOURCEBOOK ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2015. DIGITAL COPY. Published by Aspen MLT, Inc., Office of Publication: 5855 Green Valley Circle. Suite. 111, Culver City, CA 90230. The Aspen MLT, Inc. logo® is a registered trademark of Aspen MLT, Inc. Michael Turner’s Fathom™ and its logo, are the trademarks of Aspen MLT, Inc. The entire contents of this book, all artwork, characters and their likenesses are ©2014 Aspen MLT, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any similarities between names, characters, persons, and/or institutions in this magazine with persons living or dead or institutions is unintended and is purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this book may be reprinted, reproduced or transmitted by any means or in any form without the express written consent of Aspen MLT, Inc. VISIT US ON THE WEB AT FIND US ON FACEBOOK AT FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT FOR MORE ASPEN COMICS GO TO WWW.ASPENCOMICS.COM FACEBOOK.COM/ASPENCOMICS TWITTER.COM/ASPENCOMICS WWW.ASPENSTORE.COM FOR THE COMICS RETAILER NEAREST YOU CALL: 1888-COMIC-BOOK - INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS REPRESENTATIVE: CHRISTINE MEYER [[email protected]] Welcome to the world of… MICHAEL TURNER'S FATHOM In 1998, superstar comic book artist Michael Turner revealed his highly-an- ticipated new creation, Fathom, the tale of two worlds: the one we know, and the one below. This thrilling series would debutut as the best selling comic book of that year, and the resultesult would become comic book history. Yet, within thishis sixteen-year journey of the book’s publication, Fathom has evolved from Aspen Matthews’ path of discovery of her powerful true identity to a universe as diverse and breathtaking as the deepest reaches of the ocean. The Fathom: Sourcebook was created to fur- ther explore the mythos behind Turner’s most popular creation. For fans of the series and new readers alike, this handbook will provide ann in-depth look at your favorite characters, technol-ol- ogy, events and more within the Fathom Universe.verse. Prepare to dive back into the water… Sample file CONTENTS 02 Aspen Matthews 09 Captain Matthews 10 Finn 11 Tyler Kincaid 12 Chance Calloway 14 Cannon Hawke 17 Akiko Nigata 18 Killian Bra'nache 23 Taras 24 Vana 25 Chris Calloway 26 Admiral Maylander 28 The Blue ASPEN MATTHEWS Aspen Matthews Occupation: Former Olympic swimmer, marine biolo- gist, adventurer Identity: Expatriate citizen of the Blue, identity pub- licly know by humankind Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 pounds Sample file Hair: Black Eyes: Blue Known Relatives: Captain Matthews (adopted father), Rahger (biological father), Abesaloma (adopted fa- ther), Finn (half brother), Eliah (mother) Education: Ph.D in marine biology from the University of California at San Diego Aliases/Nicknames: None Skills/Abilities: Aspen is an Olympic-class swimmer and athlete, possessing the stamina and strength to swim hundreds of miles. She is an above-average hand-to-hand combatant, able to defeat an elite council security member in single combat. She pos- sesses heightened strength, agility and stamina. Aspen also breathes underwater and possesses the power of hydrokinesis, the ability to control water, to a degree far greater than the average Blue due to her mixed heritage. She can form pockets of air while underwater and condense water from air. No matter how much time she spends in water, her skin never gets wrinkled. Aspen also shares the power of the Elite Blue, able to physically transform into water and reform herself at will. Place of Birth: The Blue city of Muria Marital Status: Single Personal History: Aspen Matthews was the second child of Abesaloma, a member of the ruling political body over the undersea humanoid species the Blue, and his wife Eliah. She lived an idyllic childhood alongside her older brother Finn until her true origins were revealed when she was eleven. A member of the Black named Rahger had hypnotized, raped, and impregnated Aspen’s mother Eliah twelve years prior. This happened in secret, so no one suspected Eliah’s new daughter wasn’t the child of Abesaloma. The Black, precur- sors of the Blue and creatures of myth to their successors, had stayed hidden for many lifetimes. Aspen’s heritage remained a secret until the Blue began to debate military action against the surface world in 1974. Abesaloma hoped to influence the Blue’s leadership council toward diplomacy with human society. But the dissident Killian favored a more aggressive stance towards humanity, advocated by Counselor Zo, Abesaloma’s childhood friend. Rahger chose that time to kidnap Eliah to create more Black-Blue hybrids, aiming to stall the extinction of the Black. Abesaloma and council security defense captain Cannon Hawke rescued Aspen’s mother, but the respite was short lived as Zo and Killian attacked on behalf of the Black, killing Eliah and Abesaloma in front of Finn and Aspen. Aspen’s great power manifested for the first time in a massive explosion of hydroki- netic force, disabling the dissidents. Finn and Aspen fled in a Blue ship, chased by Killian’s forces. But, the two siblings disap- peared after accidentally activating a Blue defense satellite and hitting an undersea wormhole called a hydroport. This combina- tion of events made Aspen and Finn’s ship disintegrate and the siblings disappear, along with a human cruise ship called the Paradise. Aspen’s first conscious memory is of being discovered on the Paradise by a Navy captain named Matthews ten years later, in 1984. All memories of what had come before her sudden Sampleappearance file on the Paradise were lost to her. Captain Matthews ended up adopting Aspen, who shared his passion for the wa- ter. Aspen became an Olympic swimmer by age fifteen, but her athletic career was cut short when she set a new world record at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, only to have her win challenged by a French judge. Tests came back showing evidence of in- duced erythrocthemia, an illegal form of performance enhance- ment where athletes inject their own previously drawn blood to increase red blood cell counts. Unbeknownst to the humans, and even Aspen herself at the time, it was her hybrid Blue-Black physiology that skewed the test results. But as she was still ig- norant of her heritage, she had nothing with which to contest the Olympic committee’s findings. The Olympic committee barred Aspen from competing in not just 1988, but the 1992 and 1996 Olympics as well, essentially ending her career as a competitive swimmer. After being ousted in Seoul, Aspen trained to get a scuba diving certificate, and during her dive thought she had a “vision” when Killian appeared to her for the first time since her parents’ death. Killian tried to hypnotize her, but was forced to flee when the diving instructor drew near – discovery by humans was not conducive to his plan. Aspen later dismissed this seemingly im- possible encounter as a hallucination. Aspen shifted her focus to marine biology and oceanog- ASPEN raphy. Her studies led to advanced degrees from the University doctors could not explain, red blood cell density more than twice of California, San Diego and distinction in her field, including the human average, unusual bone flexibility, and lungs with an a posting on a joint US/Japanese undersea research platform unusual amount of alveoli, giving her five times the lung capacity called Deep Marine Discovery (DMD) in 1998. of an Olympic swimmer. She lay comatose for two days, during which time her medical files were confiscated by the Navy and Upon her arrival at the research platform, Aspen noted the shredded. presence of Cannon, a suave and certain presence Sampleserving as file a diplomat between the Japanese and the US, but didn’t re- When released from the hospital, Aspen returned to her member him from her childhood. DMD director Alexander Jarvis home in San Diego. Chance visited her soon after, trying to un- showed Aspen some of the reasons for the stringent security derstand what he saw. Aspen grilled Chance on the DMD’s de- protocols: a salvaged Blue transport around which the under- struction and he asked why she appeared to be partially made sea facility had been built, and a seemingly comatose Killian be- of water when he first found her. They spoke late into the night ing held captive. Killian had shown up at the DMD – willingly, and Chance fell asleep on Aspen’s couch. although the human scientists didn’t know it – three months before Aspen’s own arrival. Aspen recognized Killian from her In the morning, Aspen went out to get bagels, at which scuba “hallucination,” but before she could ask about him, the point Killian’s operatives kidnapped her. Aspen was taken to facility’s alarms indicated that a torpedo – fired by Navy test pilot Easter Island, where Killian had amassed a large force to take Chance Calloway – was headed towards the facility. hostile action against the surface world. Killian revealed Aspen’s heritage as a member of the Blue and recruited her for her raw Aspen watched helplessly as the torpedo hit the DMD’s power.