Review by Stefano Pizzo, from wn.com

In the internally corrupt world of modern banking, the Information Technology (I.T.) expert is both the most powerful asset and the most hunted liability.

Based on that line, I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking, which received excellent reviews in the first 5 issues of the series, returns with another exciting and intriguing volume to show us all the mysterious transactions and deals that are made inside today’s banking world.

Dimitrios Zaharakis as creator/co-editor, Scott McDaniel as writer/co-editor, Heubert Khan Michael as penciler, Andy Owens as inker, Teo Gonzalez as colorist, and Taylor Esposito as letterer give life to Evan Adonis and his some honest, some malicious colleagues, in this second arc of 5 issues.

The reputation gained in the first volume has made Evan Adonis, the genius behind the charge of I.T. & Operations, a target, on the receiving end of shouts and abuses from the bosses upstairs and other characters, who wonder if his amazing intelligence regarding the I.T. Department will play in their favor or against them.

This volume begins with a moment of confusion and rapid movements surrounding a simple USB drive that can eliminate the whole platform of thePeople’s Trust Bank of New York, where Adonis works in the I.T. Department. From the beginning, he shows the reader his abilities to avoid a major crisis that can affect his workplace.

The story demonstrates the fragility that the world of today’s banking has, depending on people like Evan Adonis, Johnny Anderson, and Len Redwood; honest members of the very important but little recognized I.T. Department of thePeople’s Trust Bank of New York.

Since the events of volume 1, a few changes have been made regarding the hierarchy, Roman Icahn, now President of thePeople’s Trust Bank of New York, replaced Ted Glauer, who was removed of that position due to the actions of Evan Adonis in the previous issues.

Besides this, Kellen Koenig, an expert in the Nation’s server security systems, is presented as the new CISO of the People’s Trust Bank of New York. This action is accompanied by the revelation made by the Bank’s CEO, Peter Flynt, of the new acquisition and installation of the new hyper converged server systems, presented as the future of banking.

Obviously, this means more demanding and complicated work for the I.T. Department, who needs to pass all the database and information of the People’s Trust Bank of New York from the old and obsolete servers to the new ones. From now on, things become fishy, especially for Evan Adonis, who is the leader of the whole I.T. operation.

While all this is developing, the agent of the National Security Agency of the USA, Nikki Valoria, is dealing with a mission situation at an illegal border crossing between Guatemala and Mexico. Here, members of the Capelli crime family are trading guns with the help of a few American financiers. The transaction concludes with the invasion of another gang, who opens fire against all the individuals involved.

Kilometers away from that situation, former People’s Trust Bank of New York President, Ted Glauer is being commissioned with a new mission involving the new acquisition of the People’s Trust Bank Family, its branch office located in New Jersey. In spite of its decayed environment, this new branch office is also part of a bigger and malicious corruption plan.

Evan Adonis is now in the eyes of every major character in this story, including the ones of Adrian Pierce, International Holdings Corporation Chief Executive Officer, who cannot decide between putting him on his side or eliminate him from the picture altogether.

Things get fishy when Adonis is sent to the new branch office in New Jersey to control the exact I.T. operation as the one at the People’s Trust Bank of New York. Here, he will meet his fellow I.T. counterpart, Diego Delacruz.

From here on, the story begins to develop and unveil mysteries surrounding the data found in the new servers. Strange financial transactions, assassinations, missing persons, and more will put Evan Adonis in a position where he has to decide whether to continue to do the right thing and send the corrupt to face justice, or learn not to get involved in things that do not concern him.

The whole plot story develops giving the reader space to assimilate the main storyline, developing parallel stories that put Evan Adonis in situations such as lending a helping hand to other coworkers, deciding on what to do with a certain love interest, and facing the attack from a few gang members.

This storyline is born due to the many banking scandals and headlines that we face with every day that passes and which have rocked our modern world and economy, affecting innocent and honest people, while enriching others. This produces a shock because there is the idea that bankers are honest working people that handle the world’s money and assets. And that is true, but sometimes, exceptions are apparent.

The Secret World of Modern Banking takes you behind closed doors, showcasing the back office drama that occurs, hidden from the public view. Corruption, scams, illegal trades, fraud, unprofessionalism, hatred and revenge are some of the elements that form this tale of modern banking.

Sadly, this is true, and it happens not only in the world of banking but in every area of modern life. Every day is more and more common to see honest and hard-working people who are struggling to arrive at the end of the month often being subjected to harassment, crazy office politics, retaliation, and other types of abuse.

I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking shows the idea that even the least expected and the most abused guy in an office can face the corrupted dome that is in charge of the whole company. People everywhere can relate to this hero’s challenges.

The intention of BlackBox Comics in creating this story was to impact people all around the world that struggle like the hero, Evan Adonis, and let them know that they are not alone and can face the enemy in a successful way.

Certainly, volume 2 of I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking, has nothing to envy of its predecessor arc. This fun and exciting story will intrigue you from the beginning, increasing the mysteries with every page that passes. If you liked the first story of Evan Adonis, this one will surely not let you down.

About I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking Creators

BLACKBOX Comics is proud to present this intriguing series about today’s banking and its secrets created by the most incredible team.

Scott Alan McDaniel:

Born in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an avid comic book fan since a little one, when he became an autodidact artist. Having a Chemistry and a Chemical engineering major, he separated from that field to get to work in most sections of the comic book creation process: penciler, inker, cover artist, layout artist, and writer. His work is shown on rewarding runs on Marvel´s Daredevil series and Elektra mini-series. At DC Comics, he has worked on the Nightwing, Justice League of America, Batman, Superman, Robin, and Green Arrow monthly series, among others.

His creativity was part of the fun cross-over between Daredevil and Batman, and DC´s Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating: Aquaman with Stan Lee himself. Also, he has participated in the making of posters, book-ends, statue design, and even a DCU pop-up book.

His work on the series of Marvel’s Daredevil and DC´s Nightwing has many followers worldwide due to the used wide range of visual style. Tense visual energy was intended by McDaniel on the Marvel’s Daredevil, where the hero was dark and gritty. Besides this, his Nightwing was more youthful, agile, acrobatic, and kinetic, giving extra motion elements.

In this comic book series, he has the position of writer and co-editor. He has worked as a comic book writer in series such as Batman, Catwoman, Daredevil, among others, receiving great reviews.

Heubert Khan Michael:

Born in 1979 in the Philippines, is the penciler of this story. He has worked in the same position on other projects such as Birds of Prey, Cyberforce, Dynamo 5, Vampirella, and The Owl. He also has worked as an inker in those same comic book projects. Besides being the penciler in volume 2 of I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking, he also made its cover.

Andy Owens:

This 20-year comic book veteran is the inker of volume 2 of I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking. His resume shows important work for the major comic book publishers. For DC Comics, he has worked on the Justice League, Superman, Batman, Nightwing, Robin and Green Arrow, working alongside the writer of this story, Scott McDaniel, for more than 10 years. At Marvel, he worked on titles such as Wolverine, X-Men and Uncanny Inhumans. At Dark Horse, he worked on Conan, Hellboy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer for a long period of time.

Teodoro José Gonzalez:

Born in Venezuela in the year 1985, he has worked as a comic book colorist since 2005. Something that started as a hobby did not take very long to become a steady job. His work includes Lullaby; Power Grabber, Ravenous, Executive Assistant Iris, I: Mage, and now, I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking.

His intricate and precise technique puts him in an excellent position among other comic book workers. He uses beautiful color palettes to create unique and specific moods and atmospheres. He also has worked in some comic book cover like The Amazing Spider-Man, Executive Assistant Iris, Grimm Fairy Tales, etc.

Taylor Esposito:

He is a graphic designer who also took classes at the School of Visual Arts, having some training in cartooning and sequential art. Since 2006, he formed part of the team at Marvel Bullpen in which he worked on digital comics, cover design, corrections, and pre-press.

He leaves Marvel in 2011 and dedicates his time as a freelance letterer and production artist for Random House, New Paradigm Studios, KIZoic, Bottled Lightning, Vertical Inc., and Valiant. The golden ticket arrived when he started working for DC Comics as one of the staff letterers in titles such as Red Hood and The Outlaws, Constantine, Bodies, CMYK, The New 52: Future´s End, and New Suicide Squad.

Nowadays, he owns Ghost Glyph Studios, doing some work for publishers like DC, Image, Zenescope, Heavy Metal, Dynamite, Rosy Pres, Webtoons, and many more.

About I.T.: The Secret World Of Modern Banking Future

This amazing second volume, like the first one, will be also launched as a trade paperback, including a pinup by Rafael Kayanan. He has worked for Marvel, DC Comics, and others as a penciler (The Amazing Spider-Man, DC Spotlight, Star Wars, What If…?), inker (Marvel Universe, Conan, Turok), colorist (Conan, Immortals: Gods And Heroes, Heavy Metal), and cover artist (Babylon 5: In Valen´s Name, Conan the Adventurer, Hawkmoon, The Punisher: War Zone, Turok).

He was part of the art department of Dark Was the Night, Mirror Mirror, Immortals, and The Haunted, and writing crew of some episodes of Vixen and Young Justice. He is also the producer of Smoke & Mirrors and fights choreographer for the TV series NCIS: Los Angeles.

Due to the great success that the previous issues brought to the series, the future of I.T.: The Secret World of Modern Banking is now open for many opportunities. This story can easily be translated into a movie or a TV series, as many comic book series have done in the past. Having an intriguing plot, awesome characters, and moments of pure banking adrenaline, this series promises many excellent things.

About BlackBox Comics

BlackBox Comics is an independent publisher based in New York, inspired by those who share an appreciation of comic writing and art, the comic industry, as well as avid readers all over the world who love great characters and great stories.

BlackBox is also developing other comic book projects such as Militia, written by Charles “Chuck” Dixon, whose work is represented by Batman, Claw The Unconquered, Green Arrow, G.I. Joe Reloaded, Nightwing, Strike!, and many others, having written the most comic book pages in history.

Another project being produced is Psycho List, written by Kevin Grevioux, who has been included in many Marvel and DC Universe works like Spider-Man, What If…?, Marvel Zombies, Fear Itself, Batman, among other titles. Kevin is also known as the creator and producer of the Underworld franchise that starred Kate Beckinsale, as well as executive producer of I, Frankenstein, starring Aaron Eckhart.

BlackBox Comics will be present at the 2018 New York Comic Con (NYCC) Booth #240 from October 4th to October 7th at the Javits Center. Creators, writers, and artists from the team of BlackBox Comics will be present at the event and ready to talk with you about future projects, artistic intentions, story plots, or simply to make a quick sketch of your favorite characters.

Stay tuned. More great comics are coming from BlackBox!

For more information regarding the world of BlackBox Comics, be sure to check out their website www.blackboxcomics.net

You can also reach them on social media:

Facebook: BlackBox Comics

Twitter: @Blackboxcomicsp

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