Dynamite Entertainment 2017
Sovereigns
Written by Ray Fawkes
Illustrated by Johnny Desjardins
Coloured by Mohan
Magnus
Written by Kyle Higgins
Illustrated by Jorge Fornes
Coloured by Chris O’Halloran
Turok
Written by Chuck Wendig
Illustrated by Alvaro Sarraseca
Coloured by Triona Farrell
Doc Spektor
Written by Aubrey Sitterson
Illustrated by Dylan Burnett
Coloured by Triona Farrell
All Lettered by Taylor Esposito
One of the things that I love about Dynamite is that they aren’t afraid to tell stories featuring these characters that are what I’d consider alternate reality stories. They have no problem creating these fantastic new worlds, realities and scenarios to place these classic heroes in and make work like nobody’s business. Well that and they tend to keep many of the characters in these kind of crossover books as well.
Ray and Johnny kill the first one, which is also the longest story here. I mean when we see that bridge (the Golden Gate Bridge if i’m not mistaken) in the state that it is and know that this is some kind of post apocalyptic world i’m instantly excited. I love that we open in 2520 then the next thing ya know it’s 2020, which isn’t far off, and it’s a future where the jungle has reclaimed the land and dinosaurs roam the earth, domesticated by what is left of man.
The story is intriguing and leaves you wanting to know about what happened and how things got to this point. We learn about the main players here, Turok, Magnus, Samson, Doc Spektor and Solar and they tie together in this piece. Also there’s something of a bad thing about to happen and we see that start as well. It’s full on intrigue as we are left wondering what the heck is going on here and excited for the chance to learn.
Johnny’s interiors are stunning and breathtaking. His attention to detail is phenomenal and the journey he takes us on here sends shivers down my spine in anticipation of what’s to come. Also kudos to Mohan on his colours for this such great use of both subtlety and boldness.
By Contrast the other stories here introducing the latest characters to claim the famous names are set in what would be considered modern or futuristic styled cities. The looks at the individual series that will spin from this make me just as happy as the main one does because this is the kind of re-imagining that excites you. Legacy characters to a degree or just different takes on what we’ve come to know it doesn’t matter what does is that these are peeks into stories that grab your attention, pique your curiosity and make you wonder how they all tie together.
That these are never meant to replace the originals makes them that much more fun to read and explore because we know they are just alternate stories and the originals still exist somewhere. This newest look into the world of these iconic heroes is one I cannot wait to begin!