Titanium Rain Volume 1 HC [Hardcover]

Josh Finney (Author), Kat Rocha (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2010 | Series: Titanium Rain

To be alive is to be at odds with the world. Man against nature. Man against man. The instinct to survive is what has made us who we are. In the year 2031, mankind's survival instinct is put to the test when a civil war in China spirals into global conflict. Nations are destroyed. Millions are killed. And for many, like US Air Force pilot Alec Killian, survival will mean shedding some of his humanity in exchange for biotech and machine. Collects the first four chapters of the Titanium Rain series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Archaia; First Edition edition (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932386726
• ISBN-13: 978-1932386721
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.7 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author, artist, and full-time obsessive-compulsive, Josh has been working as a comics professional since 2004. His first success came with the acclaimed cyberpunk series, UTOPIATES, which was conceived in part with his wife and partner in crime, Kat Rocha. Since then, Josh s writing and art has graced the pages of BATMAN, CATWOMAN and JETTA. As well, Josh wrote and co-rendered a stand-out story in the 2007 AWESOME ANTHOLOGY, dubbed in the press as, a virtual who s who of the best of up-and-coming indie talent.
Outside of comics, Josh has done art and concept designs for numerous games, magazines, album covers and on occasion, even television. In 2003 Josh was commissioned by Star Trek screenwriter, Jimmy Diggs, to design an alien spacecraft which was slated to appear in the ill-fated, fifth season of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE. Other skeletons in Josh s past include time in the music industry (as a journalist and musician), a gunshot wound, his life as a staff artist for England s famed sci-fi magazine INTERZONE, and that time he did graphics for the DORA THE EXPLORER game...but you can ask him about it if you really want to know. Josh looks forward to continuing his career in comics, telling gripping stories and striving to redefine the medium. With brain transplants and robot bodies a distinct possibility in the near future, Josh hopes to be at this comics stuff for quite a long time.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I was a little reluctant to pick this up... April 3, 2011

By Ali S Hassan

Format:Hardcover

I bought this yesterday at WonderCon. I'd seen the single issues in shops, and often looked them through. The art is truly unbelievable, I've thought this since I saw issue one back when it first came out. While thumbing through issue one, I noticed how "real" it was. The level of emotion and fear in the ground troops as they were being overrun, and the relief when air support arrives. The characters reminded me of Kingdom Come's Alex Ross. Very realistic, and very familiar.

Now, years later, I actually met the creative team behind the book. I knew I always wanted the first issue, and now was my chance to get it and the rest of the story as well as a lot of reference and back up story in the form of "official documents," in world magazine articles and recruitment posters as well as many many more (about 50 pages, counting front and backs) articles and technical data. Now, I love extras so I really really enjoyed all of behind the scenes stuff, and since it was all presented as in story fact it only helped me dive deeper into the lore behind this seemingly inevitable war.

The story is pretty good so far. This is only book one of what should be a 4 volume series (12 issue story, and volume 1 consists of the first 3.). Obviously because of this I cant really go into too many plot spoilers because honestly the plot is only coming together at the end of the book. The author, Josh Finny told me he did a lot of research in military jargon and interviewed pilots to know how they talked and how they operated. All of the pre flight preps and and arming of weapon systems, to activating the ejection system created such a level of authenticity, I'd have sworn the man was taking notes from Tom Clancy.

What really sets this story above its peers is the fact that the pilots are physically augmented to be, and as the Prometheus project hopes; exceed, regular pilots. I think its common knowledge that China has a larger army and air force than the US and NATO. As a result, when NATO steps in during their conflict they are met with heavy casualties because they are often outnumbered 3 to 1. Now being a pilot is a lot about skill, but its actually a lot more about their physiology. With enough practice and training anyone can fly and understand the displays, however no amount of training or practice will let everyone survive a high G turn. Enter the Prometheus program, a joint project designed to create "super pilots" by physically enhancing them. These enhancements range from prosthetic eyes, circulatory upgrades to withstand high G forces to enhanced reflexes by adding superconductive circuitry which increases reaction time.

Now these "hacks" as they are called, are deployed to this conflict, with a great deal of success. Its their conflicts out of the battle field that really shine. The conflict of being pushed beyond the possibilities of the human body as well as the fact that America has plunged itself in a war that seems causeless to those fighting it provide an excellent back drop to the Chinese civil war.

If you're into flight simulations (Ace Combat), realistic war movies (Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, TOP GUN), or fictional war stuff (Robotech, Macross) you'll enjoy this book. The back story politics is interesting and more importantly believable, the characters are familiar in that doubt and morality are common to everyone, and finally science fiction elements feel like they are only a blink away from being concepts to real world equipment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A pioneering visual graphic novel May 31, 2010

By Jason Tudor

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a broad adventure we're being taken on, forward-swept wings cutting through the sky faster than the speed of sound. Solid characters, glorious landscapes and the sort of detail that one would expect from a spanning story like this make this one to have for your collection. I'd bet the creators of "Shatter" and the digital works that followed wished they could have achieved the sort of splendor that is captured on each of Mr. Finney and Ms. Rocha's pages. Not "meh," but magnificent. My full review is here: [...].

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Near-Future Aerial Combat! April 30, 2010

By D. Hawk

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm not usually much of an graphic novel fan; I tend to read some manga and a few American comic series (namely Star Wars Legacy and Star Wars: KOTOR). But nothing has really hooked me into the graphic novel genre as an adult. At least, that was the case until I picked up Titanium Rain. This one has changed the way I look at graphic novels, because I have been looking for something like this for a long time: near-future science fiction with realistic story-telling in a unique, yet plausible setting that makes me wish for more.

Josh Finney has done his research, setting this work in the year 2031, where a group of cybernetically-enhanced Allied fighter pilots are embroiled in a Chinese civil war that threatens to draw Japan, the United States, and Great Britain into the conflict. The themes of Titanium Rain reflect very much of our own world; dwindling resources, political turmoil and changing national governments, and economic uncertainty are thoroughly explored, much like many of the best science fiction novels ever written.

The artwork is unique, combining a realistic, almost photographic style with vivid coloring and detail. The panels flow smoothly from one to the next, and the action sequences are both exciting and memorable. Included are various in-world articles, character-related snippets, and an aircraft section in a Jane's style outlay detailing warplanes flown by the graphic novel's major powers, all designed to help immerse the reader.

Josh Finney and Kat Rocha have created a graphic novel that I feel raises the bar of the industry. If you enjoy graphic novels and science fiction, don't let this one pass you by!