Dipping into the Kickstarter pile again, I ran across another comic I’ve been meaning to read: The Adept, an intriguing martial arts story with a female lead.

Amy clearly hasn’t been around for her sister Ali and hopes that tickets to see one of her sister’s favorite singers will be a step in the right direction to bringing them closer. Unfortunately, things go sideways quickly when a man jumps on stage and grabs singer Sasha True. Everyone assumes he’s trying to harm her when a group of security guards storm in (allegedly) to rescue her. Amy is taking this all in and realizes that the man on the stage is the same man who has been training her in marital arts in her dreams, and the security guards are bogus. The situation quickly becomes chaotic, as Amy is torn between staying with her sister and helping the man on the stage save Sasha.

We get right to the heart of the conflict between the two sisters. The resentment, mistrust, and yearning to make up for past behavior is palpable.  Ali and Amy come from different worlds, and part of the mystery right now is why Amy left in the first place. The action is tight and fun, and the art gives us a nice sense of time and place. Sasha is a great, as well. I did have some questions about bad guys’ logistics of removing bodies from a public place, but there may be a reason for this yet to be revealed. I did like that the story focused on two sisters, rather than two brothers, which is what we normally see.

This is a very solid first issue with not only several cool mysteries to unravel, but the complexities of sibling relationships. I have no doubt they will provide interesting sub-plots, allowing us to dig deeper into already complicated characters.

I look forward to the next installment of this ongoing series.

Creative Team: Charlie Stickney (writer), Yishan Li (artist), Deron Bennett (letterer
Publisher: Immortal Studios
Click here to purchase.