Dynamite Entertainment 2017
Written by Bill Willingham
Illustrated by Cezar Razek
Coloured by Daniela Miwa
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
Tarzan and Jason Gridley have assembled a crew of the greatest adventurers
their world has to offer. Aboard the Martian sky ship Venture, they’ve set off in pursuit of a powerful gemstone called the Eye of Judgment. They’re in a race to find the gem against an alien battleship called the Resolve. If the villains aboard the Resolve get it first, they’ll be able to construct a death ray that can reach across the stars themselves, and kill anyone on any world,
When we’re talking about Edgar Rice Burroughs in comics we’re usually talking about the usual trope of characters. This time around Bill said nope i’m gonna go a different route and use those that are more obscure, for lack of a better word. After all the man was a prolific writer and had a great many books out that had a myriad of men and women who never receive the attention they deserve. Personally i’m not familiar with all of them so seeing them in these pages does pique my curiosity and is making me want to look into the novels from which they come, ah the joys of reading continue.
I will say that the opening page here with the who’s who faces by Cezar and Daniela was a wonderful helper. As close to a scorecard as we’re going to get and something you can either keep referring to when you forget who someone is or to use as a guide to find which novels they were in!
Well this is very much a get to know you issue, last issue it was okay here’s the threat let’s assemble a team, this is we’ve got the team we need to learn about each other. It’s only natural since you don’t want to go into a situation without knowing someone’s skills right? It’s also a chance for the reader to get to know the characters and get a feel for the kind of story that Bill is writing here. These characters run the gamut from Western to Science Fiction so establishing them all is essential in my eyes and well let’s also admit it’s great fun.
The cue for the enemies to be seen is where Cezar and Daniela really get to unleash! An Island that Time Forgot complete with the forest reclaiming temples and pyramids. The attention to detail in this is simply stunning and the way the colours are used is wonderful. The eye for storytelling here through angles, perspective and the use of backgrounds all make the page layouts look spectacular. Plus the imagination and creativity on display with some of the “stuff/things/people/creatures” we see is thrilling.
This has all those elements of the action/adventure story with bits and pieces of science fiction, horror and good old fashioned i’m gonna take over the world vibes. It’s a blend that just seems to work with the myriad of characters. That the cast here is so large isn’t a concern either I mean with Bill’s history and experience this is nothing he knows how to use them and spotlight them when needed.
I adore the fact that Edgar Rice Burroughs work lives on today and can be remembered and passed on to new generations through the world of comics!