Week In Review : 47 Ronin #1 + Before Watchmen Moloch #1 + Colder #1

Pardon the belated posts this week folks, the festivites of Diwali (amongst other things) had us terribly short on time and we were not able to post these up sooner! 

47 Ronin #1 (Dark Horse)

Story : Mike Richardson

Art : Stan Sakai

(Reviewed by Anubhav Dasgupta)

There is a saying that the tale of the Forty Seven Ronin is the definitive Japanese story. From what I’ve gathered, it’s a tale that more or less commands a huge chunk of their culture, much like our myths of Ram and the Mahabharata.

“To know the tale of 47 Ronin is to know Japan.”

And that’s not far off from the truth. 47 Ronin feels like a very Japanese tale. There are some stories that just feel classy, that feel noble, like Seven Samurai, Citizen Kane, Kumonoso Jo and this comic feels like one of those stories. It doesn’t cheat you with gimmicks and cheap shocks, but simply tells a story, and a good one at that.

#1 is merely set-up and it works quite well at that and I won’t pass much judgment on the writing, which can be described for the most part as… competent.

But the art…

By god, the art.

Stan Sakai’s art is Japan personified. His style mixes Manga and contemporary Western elements. The colors give it a slightly cartoonish look, but it works well with Sakai’s style. The inking is quite reminiscent of Japanese woodcut art, and it’s definitely what binds the comic together and sets the tone for the comic.

Sure, 47 Ronin doesn’t feel as grand as some of the other comics in stands right now, but it was well written, brilliantly drawn and for a first issue that has nothing but set-up, it was brilliant.

SCORE : 8 / 10

Before Watchmen: Moloch #1 (DC)

Story : J. Michael Straczynski

Art : Eduardo Risso

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

The first thing that strikes you is the Bad-ass cover. It is so brilliantly done. A magician shrouded in mystery. It just fits this so well.

This issue provides the history of Moloch. You’ll remember him as the guy shitting his pants when Rorschach meets him just before he got arrested.

The artwork is perfect for this issue, it’s dark and gritty. Brooding.

The story is more than a little cliché. I mean, guy is born, looks funny, ostracised (that means nobody gave a damn about him)[Dude! Writing a review here] He falls for a girl, finds release in magic. Finds out girl is screwing with him. Kills her boyfriend and puts the dead body on her bed while she sleeps, thus sending her to an asylum for about ten years to cope with that. Yikes!

Becomes a magician, turns to a life of crime, You see where I’m going with this?!!

Even though it seems a little derivative, there are certain moments in the issue where you see that Straczynski has made this character his own.

Regardless of the fact that the story is cliché, it’s well structured and organised. There is a lot of story here. It gives an excellent insight into why Moloch became Moloch.

So here goes the verdict : I enjoyed the art, I found the writing interesting, to say the least. The story itself was...well... average!

SCORE : 7 / 10

(Bangs beer mug on table!) Bring me more ALE!!!

Colder #1 (Dark Horse)

Story : Paul Tobin

Art : Juan Ferreyra

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Insanity.

Utter and total insanity.

This is pretty much how I'd like to describe this book and add in that I really like it and want to read the next issue not tomorrow, not now – yesterday.

This latest from the folks at Dark Horse is a strange little tale that seems to dabble in mental illness, magic, humanity and the macabre.

Our main characters are Declan, a former mental patient, and Reece, a good-hearted nurse who has become his guardian. His story starts at a mental hospital that he's in for unknown reasons and that goes up in flames (literally!) and then jumps ahead to the “present day” where he is a human popsicle living in our heroines apartment. His body temperature has been steadily dropping since the incident at the hospital thanks to a very strange, somewhat scary and clearly twisted being (who I guess will be the eventual bad-guy in all this) and the basic premise of the story – which is unclear if you never read the solicit by the way – is that our dear Declan has the ability to enter anothers mind and cure their crazy. But not his own. And if he doesn't do it by the time his body temp hits the big 'zero', he's finished. Kicked the bucket. Said his last goodbye. Pushing up daisy's. You know what I mean.

Tobin crafts a great tale here. It's absorbing, intriguing and gives the impression of being the start of a twisted but great story. Having read the solicit though, I was annoyed at the slow pace – though this first issue reads so well that it's hard to really complain. I'm new to Juan Ferreyra's art, but he does an excellent job with his characters, there is a very “real” sense to everything and the fine details like he shows on the creepy villain character really add a nice feel to the whole thing. I look forward to much more from him.

SCORE : 8.5 / 10