Comics Commentary: Science Fiction Tie-In Comics

 

(Part One)

(Part Two)

This is a Media Diet Comics Commentary video review of Star Trek: Voyager—Seven's Reckoning #1 (IDW, November 2020), Doctor Who #1 (Titan, December 2020), and Dune: House Atreides #1-2 (Boom, October-November 2020). Unscripted, unedited. Just a guy talking about comics.

Audio only (Part One). Audio only (Part Two).

Transcript below...

Comics Commentary: Usagi Yojimbo #13-14

 

Audio only.

Transcript below...

Comics Commentary: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #110-111

 

Unscripted, unedited. Just a guy talking about comics.

Audio only.

Transcript below...

Comics Commentary: Dungeons & Dragons tie-in comics

We'll see what we think of this little experiment! Little video comics reviews, unscripted, unedited.

Audio only.

Transcript below...

Trek-Citement

Star Trek: Discovery—The Light of Kahless #2 (IDW, November 2017, $3.99)
Having recently caught up on Star Trek: Discovery episodes I have been in a state of Trek-citement. Reading the media tie-in novel Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours has helped satisfy that yen, as did the second issue of this tie-in comic.

Written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, and drawn by Tony Shasteen, it's an excellent read—and one that will help fill in some back story for those watching the show. At the same time, it's a good standalone story, featuring interesting characterization and wonderful science-fiction artwork.



This issue tells the story of the Klingon T'Kuvma's spiritual awakening and allegiance to Kahless, as told to Voq. Studying in the harsh environs of the Cauldron of Tak'la Pokh in the Caves of Nomat on Boreth, T'Kuvma sees a vision. The vision returns during "the worst storm in years," the Rage of Pakath.

T'Kuvma returns home to House Girjah against his wishes, to assist his sister J'Ula, expected to wed into House Mokai. There, she shows him the flagship the "common people" have restored, as well as its invisibility shield. Then, T'Kuvma meets J'Ula's betrothed, D'Lor of House Mokai.



If you enjoy Star Trek or the Klingons generally—and if you enjoy the new show specifically—check out this comic. The writing is true to the mythos, and Shasteen's artwork is wonderful. I was particularly impressed by the spread on pp. 2-3 of the Cauldron and the flagship interiors on pp. 14-15.

Availability: A collection of the series will be published in July. We also recommend the tie-in novel Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours.

Roleplaying Game Comic Books

Dungeons & Dragons: Frost Giant's Fury #3-5 (IDW, February-April 2017, $3.99)
Dragon Age: Knight Errant #2, 4-5 (Dark Horse, June and August-September 2017, $3.99)
Pathfinder: Runescars #2, 4 (Dynamite, 2017, $4.99)

I haven't read roleplaying game comic books other than Knights of the Dinner Table for some time, and this batch of comics has been in my reading box for longer than I like admitting. All three series might be of interest to people who are already well versed—or active in—playing roleplaying games given their settings, characters, and concepts. Of the three, Dragon Age: Knight Errant might be best suited for someone interested in fantasy broadly, but not RPGs specifically. (That said, people interested in that series of video games might also be interested.) Even if these miniseries are no longer publishing, chances are good that each franchise has a new series going, so check the stands at your local shop.

Dungeons & Dragons: Frost Giant's Fury was intended to dovetail with release of the Storm Kings Thunder adventure module for the tabletop RPG and the related season of organized play in game stores around the world. If I remember correctly, the timing was off, and it was pretty far into the season before the comic shipped. Regardless, it's a fun read. Minsc the ranger and his space hamster Boo from the Baldur's Gate series of video games join several other adventurers—sorceress Delina, rogues Krydle and Shandie, and cleric Nerys—to investigate and thwart the intrigue among and between dragons and giants fighting to control Faerun.



Jim Zub's writing is good, but it's a little too transparent in the game lineage and mechanics. (This is an issue IDW's D&D comics have had from the beginning.) Delina might say something other than "Magic missile!" when casting that spell in #4, eh? Given that much of the comic is character driven, Netho Diaz's art concentrates on the humanoids, but in #3's pages with the white dragon in its cave during the snowstorm, readers get a little bit of the sense of wonder inherent in D&D. "Okay, lockpicker... talk." #5 goes a bit broader in its scale, offering several nice moments featuring the giants, including a two-page spread on pp. 4-5, and a face off between giant and dragon on pp. 12 and 15.

D&D players will be interested in the character sheets offered in each issue for the characters Krydle, Nerys, and Shandie, who are all sixth level, incidentally.

A Comic You Can Fall Into

Starstruck: Old Proldiers Never Die #1-6 (IDW, February-July 2017, $4.99)
Written by Elaine Lee and drawn by Michael Kaluta, this is a "new" series of a comic that reaches back more than 30 years. Originally staged as an off-Broadway play, intended as a comic as early as 1980, serialized in Heavy Metal, published by Marvel's Epic line, and later the subject of brief legal action involving Marvel and Disney, this series is "remastered," whatever that means. Reportedly including 50% new artwork, the comic goes beyond the original material. Regardless, is this a new comic, or a reprint?



Given that history, it's no surprise that Lee's world is richly designed and populated—few comic books include an encyclopedic glossary in the back matter. The story and characters are very well developed. This is a fantastic dystopian future—shades of Blade Runner, AI, and Max Headroom. And even though the first page seems to have been drawn in 1984, the comic is fresh and new, occasionally more surprising and groundbreaking than something made of whole cloth today.

Harry Palmer, veteran of the Droid Wars, is looking for Annie, who was left behind by Galatia 9. Several Girl Guides offer to help him, as does an Aquatunisian empath. He encounters cryptic mentions of pleasure-giving androids and "running in place." After a fire in a wax museum, Palmer finally finds an android much like Annie, as well as Mary, before solving the mystery of running in place.



Kaluta's art is mind boggling. Beautifully dense and lush, the pages and panels have so much going on in them. Think Matt Wagner's Grendel as drawn by Geoff Darrow by way of Liberatore and Henry Darger. Cinematic in scope, this comic is one you can fall into. Glorious.

Availability: Starstruck: Old Proldiers Never Die will be available in hard cover in December 2017. IDW's previous 13-issue remastered Starstruck series has also been collected.

Where the Gold Came From

Classic Popeye #63 (IDW, October 2017, $4.99)
Published in conjunction with Yoe Books and King Features Syndicate, this issue reprints Popeye #63, originally published in January-February 1962. Written and drawn by Bud Sagendorf, the reprint includes the main, longer story, as well as shorter pieces, including a one-page text piece, "Plowman," but no other editorial or advertising.

Originally published by Dell, Sagendorf's take on Popeye was a wonderful outgrowth of E.C. Segar's original work, and helped cement the character's popularity in the '60s and '70s. In the shorts, Popeye endangers Swee'Pea by moving a mattress, helps Swee'Pea go fishing on a rainy day, goes hitchhiking, and inspects a hole dug by Swee'Pea.



The two longer stories are also fun and enjoyable, though more based on adventure and less on simple gags. In "Haunted Island," Popeye, Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea, and Wimpy wash up on an island, where they encounter a mysterious ghost. They build a multi-level treehouse and receive a rent bill before meeting the island's inhabitant.

In "Yellow Rock!" Popeye helps Swee'Pea find gold in the desert, only to raise his—and Wimpy's—expectations unrealistically. When they realize where the gold came from, they are disappointed.



Even though the Sagendorf Popeye material is a sight for sore eyes, the Professor O.G. Wotasnozzle backup story is priceless. In order to avoid traffic on their way to enjoy a picnic lunch with Sappo, the professor shows off several new inventions—only to end up in a police van. I cannot believe that Wotasnozzle never had his own series!

Availability: You can buy this issue online. Previous issues of this reprint series have been collected in Popeye Classics Volume 1, Popeye Classics: Moon Goon and more!, Popeye Classics: Witch Whistle and more!, and other volumes.