Titan Comics 2017
Written by Cavan Scott
Illustrated by Andie Tong
Coloured by Mauricio Wallace
Lettered by Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Still struggling to control the Devil Gene which rages inside of him, Jin hopes to secure
the artefact before it can fall into the hands of his diabolical grandfather Heihachi. But with his father, Kazuya, and the dastardly G Corporation threatening to undermine his efforts, it’s going to take more than a few well-placed punches to ensure his plan succeeds.
Last issue I said how nice it was that another video game franchise specialising in fighting was able to transcend the genre and become something more interesting. While games do follow their own story arc it’s never as involved as what we’re seeing here. Also that Cavan is taking the story from the games and continuing it here in a way that keeps it so closely tied is a treat for those who play and love the game. By the same token for those who are just getting into the franchise through this the background is presented clearly for us.
Cavan does an incredible job with the characterisation here as we get to see more and more of their personalities emerge and see how Jin struggles more and more with the demon within him. Also that we still get to see the fighting that the franchise is known for well that’s just an added bonus really. Granted it’s something we expect to see and they don’t disappoint but really it should come down to how strong the story is and how that’s able to tie-in the fighting. UDON does it differently with the fighting being the focus and honestly this way is much stronger.
Andie does some really nice work on the interiors here. It can’t be easy to take the video game characters and make them come to life on the comic book page but he makes it look easy. The attention to detail here is great and from their clothes to body proportions Andie really does put a nice amount of time, effort and aplomb into what we see. Even those parts that shouldn’t seem normal, see the fighting Panda, or demon features, fit perfectly within this realm. Kudos should also go out to Mauricio on colours here too because without them it would just be flat drawings.
As the story deepens and we see more of who’s who in this little drama and what role they play, well really we just see side vs. side, see good vs bad. It’s really who’s there to save Jin and who wants him captured for whatever reason, well we kind of have reasons. Jin’s father thinks there are prophecies or visions of him taking him out of the equation so yeah that’s why dad’s after hm I suppose. Really though the big question is why is the demon inside him so hard to control and if fully unleashed what’s it going to really do?
I think Cavan has created a nice story around what’s happening here as we have no clue about how Jin controls this thing or what happens if he just lets loose. One way or another we’re going to see that because with one obstacle after another in their way sooner or later the demons is going to be unleashed. I for one can’t wait for that to happen!
Another hugely successful adaptation of a video game franchise for Titan Comics.