Dynamite Entertainment 2019
Written by Christopher Hastings
Illustrated by David Hahn
Coloured by Roshan Kurichiyanil
Lettered by Ariana Maher with Special Thanks to Zack Davisson
CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS and DAVID HAHN proudly present a story from a time when there wasn't internet, but there WERE cyborgs! It's the 1970s. Things are going great. Steve Austen (used to be an astronaut, now has robo-parts & a laser eye) heads to Japan to help Secret Agent Niko Abe stop a madman with missiles. Steve figures, no sweat. But then…sweat. How's Steve going to complete his mission, when his fancy $6,000,000 body starts. DRASTICALLY) depreciating in value!?
One of the first things I noticed about this book is the fact that Christopher has brought back that fun-loving wise-cracking care-free man that made me fall in love with Lee Majors, okay so did Heath Cartwright. Still his devil-may-care ways make him so much damn fun to read about. So yeah the characterisation here is pretty amazing to me. As it is for Niko who is meeting Steve with no idea about the truth behind him, what he is and what he can do. So all around I love the way the characters come to life. Now lets hope all my hyphenated words are done.
Now the story at hand is classic and it makes me believe that Christopher is a total fan of the television show. Almost ever damn thing in this reminds me of the series and I was totally loving every moment I witnessed. It felt like one of those made for television episodes where Steve and Niko can dive head first into this without any kind of prep or planning. One thing leads to another and of course nothing is going to go as planned. The way this is structured is sensational as the ebb & flow of the reveals and furthering the story & plot development are near flawlessly done.
I am enjoying how this makes me feel and just how much fun everything is, the dialogue for example is frakkin amazing and so important to how we see this run. I haven’t had the pleasure to really be exposed to Christopher’s work in the past so this is really the first time I have had the chance to really understand why he’s so well liked. I’m a fan of his now that’s for sure because he understands the fundamentals in crafting a story and the skill & talent to make that come to life perfectly.
Honestly I was worried when I knew David was doing the interiors. I love them on other titles that are let’s say more campy in nature and I really didn’t think it would suit this franchise. I am not afraid or ashamed to admit when I am wrong either. So yes this has the tone and feel of a Classic Saturday Morning Cartoon but somehow with the way Christopher writes it is a perfect fit. Steve is handsome and charming and Niko is beautiful and exudes all the emotions and moods that she’s feeling. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show off this exciting eye for storytelling. The way backgrounds are incorporated into the panels is extremely nice to see as they expand the moments and bring that size and scope to the book.
The colour work here is great as well and it completes that vibe I mentioned earlier. I like the choices the shading and the use of colour tones and even gradation. It does wonders for completely the vision of the story. Also a big shout out to the lettering here. The Chinese wording and script is brilliantly done in my opinion and that kind of attention to detail and authenticity is a huge wow factor here. I do not know if they did the lettering around the chopper but that too is exceeding any and all expectations considering how it affected the conversation they had. Super work here with that impressive isn’t even descriptive enough.
Bloody Brilliant work here from the writing, pacing, plot & story development and the characterisation alongside the interior artwork and the utilisation of the lettering. This is amazing to see and a joy to experience.