Image Comics 2015
By Chip Zdarsky, Kagan McLeod, Becka Kinzie
Mike Faille, Chelsea Watt, Jonathon Rivait
A mission to Mars goes horribly wrong when a wormhole swallows KEITH KANGA and his crewmates, transporting them across the universe to the planet KAPTARA, which is also the name of this book. That wormhole also provides a route in the opposite direction for a terrifying armada led by a man known only as SKULLTHOR, which means you are probably dead right now. With the dashing soldier MANTON as its leader, a band of KAPTARA’s heroes vows to find Keith’s missing crewmates, and head to Earth to stop SKULLTHOR. KEITH opts to stay behind.
This book is bizarre, weird, captivating and unlike anything you’ve experienced before it’s like taking a handful of shrooms while smoking a few blunts and drinking liquor so that the result your mind comes up with is right here. You can’t help but stay focused on the book once you start kind of like a train wreck that captures your imagination so you can’t look away. There are moments you think this is like He-Man on steroids or through the looking glass and you chuckle but never stray.
It’s kind of sad that Keith is such a coward he’s so whatever about the rest of the crew that landed on the planet with him he’s being taken care of and trained with a battlebroom but he’s not taking that seriously either instead he’s trying to flirt his way through the lesson. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to like him or not because this introduction with him well he’s not very likeable and maybe that’ll change and maybe it won’t but right now he’s a pretty much a dick. Nice to see that too just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he isn’t like anyone else.
So with all the madness that is this series there is some really good characterization happening. The characters are being fleshed out nicely, though at times through words and actions it does make it hard to them seriously. Then again that’s another darn good thing sometimes you just need to get lost in a story that makes you laugh and feel good. There’s so much crap going on in the world this is a wonderful escape from that.
I do like this Queen she knew what she was doing and as the mother of a son who shall we say isn’t the brightest crayon in the box knew how to set things up so that Keith would end up finding a way to joining the expedition. Much as she planned it to be. So She-La and Keith go off on the trail of Manton and the rest on not a Cat-Tank but a unique transport of her own. You need to see to understand it but it keeps your attention on the page still. They hit the Unchanted Forest and get attacked, because their journey will be fraught with peril as they try to find the others. I have no idea what these overweight things are that attack them but i’ll have whatever they are having, and I thought my Sustiva gave me odd dreams. cause I’d love to be able to visualize this world without being terrified and laughing at the same time.
This is just out there so far into left field that it’s stadiums away from the game and it’s perfect the way it is. Okay so it pokes fun at a childhood cartoon but hey that’s okay too this is what escape is all about.