Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Phil Hester
Illustrated by Brent Peeples
Coloured by Morgan Hickman
Lettered by Simon Bowland
LET THE ALLIANCE BEGIN…
Magnus — a secret agent of sorts monitoring the rise of military artificial intelligence and robotics around the globe
Turok — a reality television star and tribal park ranger in charge of some rather unique specimens….
Solar — a young doctor on a mission of mercy in an impoverished part of Africa… Samson — a homeless man ranting at unseen monsters on the streets of Manhattan. All drawn together by a force that threatens to tear not only our world apart, but every possible world in the multiverse.
Sometimes when you try to reinvent or use old characters to make them relevant again you are taking a mighty big risk. However when you’ve got someone with the caliber and talent of Phil at the writing helm it’s going to be one heck of a great ride no matter what happens. I have an odd affinity for these characters and what’s been done by Dynamite over the years and I’m glad, thankful and hopeful that they keep trying to do right by them.
So far I like what i’m seeing here. Each vignette shows us each character and where they are in the here and now. Four characters that should coexist with one another at the same time is a great way to capture the imagination and interest of readers. Along with that very defiant outburst to open the story which is an immediate attention grabber.
While yes I know Samson from the bible I’ll fully admit i’m not familiar with him as a comic character. Though i’m expecting him to be something along the lines of Hercules in strength and power but we’ll see. So far his intro has me the most excited as it seems he realizes this a world that shouldn’t exist. The implications here are wonderfully presented and it makes me want to keep coming back to see exactly what role he plays in all this.
Turok’s segment also makes me pretty ecstatic. The idea behind that one is part Jurassic Park and part reality television show and all together it makes things ideal. Not only that but using him in this manner is entirely new, fresh and opens up an avenue for a limited series that could focus on this very premise at another time. There’s also something about how he’s using modern technology with what we expect to see him using that continues to excite and interest the readers and furthers hope of a limited series in this vein.
Magnus was a little more subtle in how things went. I thought highly ironic that he be in that situation and is was pretty brilliantly done. Though the surprise of it all was executed perfectly i’m kind of dying to know how he knew. Unless that’s still a holdover from his origins and he’s that in tune with robots/machines.
This version of Solar has left me a little unhappy. Don’t get me wrong it’s interesting but she isn’t anything associated with what I remember or of his daughter whose run I adored. I’ll keep an open mind and hopefully as her story unfolds it’ll make more sense as well make her seem a natural choice instead of the original.
Love the interiors here too! Such great attention to detail, with crisp clean imagery and backgrounds that come to life. The use of pages and panels to maintain the right flow of the story as well highlight and illuminate certain moments is done incredibly well. Plus the people themselves are just a joy to see, look at and experience emotion from.
This is among the reason why Dynamite for me will always maintain my allegiance because they know whom to hire and how to reinvigorate characters and make their readers happy. This issue with the perfect introduction and a villain reveal demonstrate just how strong this run is going to be as it pays the perfect homage to the past while moving steadily into the future!